HONG KONG /XIANGGANG/, April 12. /TASS/. Taiwan recorded 35 aircraft and 8 ships belonging to China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in the vicinity of the island on Wednesday, according to the Defense Ministry’s statement on Twitter.

"35 PLA aircraft and 8 PLAN vessels around Taiwan were detected by 6 a.m.(UTC+8) today," the statement said.

According to it, 15 aircraft crossed what is known as the median line of the Taiwan Strait as well as entered Taiwan’s southwest air defense identification zone. They included Su-30, J-16 and J-10 fighter planes, a BZK-005 reconnaissance drone as well as an airborne early warning and control program KJ-200. In response, Taiwan’s military scrambled its airborne patrol, issued radio warnings and deployed air defense systems.

On April 8-10, the PLA held drills in the Taiwan Strait as well as in the waters north, south and east of the island. They were dubbed "Joint Sword" and conducted simultaneously with patrols around Taiwan.

The military exercise was held in response to Taiwan's regional leader Tsai Ing-wen’s transit through the US and her meeting with US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on April 5. Following the meeting, the US side reaffirmed the necessity of continued arms sales to Taiwan. China’s Foreign Ministry expressed resolute protest over this asserting that Beijing would take effective and decisive retaliatory measures.

The PLA regularly sends its ships and aircraft to the vicinity of Taiwan amid exacerbated relations between the two sides following a visit by Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi on August 2-3, 2022. Later, Taiwan was visited by several other delegations of US legislators and officials. Beijing views such visits as provocations, interference in China’s domestic affairs and support for Taiwanese separatists.

Taiwan, China’s largest island, has been governed by its local administration since 1949 but Beijing regards the island as one of its provinces. Washington remains Taiwan’s main supplier of weapons and military equipment.