Taiwan Defence Ministry says it detected 68 Chinese aircraft, 10 warships close to island

"68 PLA aircraft and 10 PLAN vessels around Taiwan were detected by 6 a.m.(UTC+8) today. R.O.C. Armed Forces have monitored the situation and tasked CAP aircraft, Navy vessels, and land-based missile systems to respond these activities," Taiwan's Ministry of Defence tweeted.

It added that 40 of the detected aircraft had crossed the strait’s median line and entered Taiwan’s southwest or southeast Air Defense Information Zone (ADIZ) during the past 24 hours, reports Anadolu Agency.

Taiwan has been governed independently from mainland China since 1949.

Beijing views the island as its province, while Taiwan - a territory with its own elected government - maintains that it is an autonomous country, but stops short of declaring independence.