HONG KONG, June 27. /TASS/. Taiwan’s armed forces will destroy any aircraft or vessels of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) if they are detected within Taiwan’s 12-nautical-mile (around 22.2 km) territorial zone, a senior Taiwanese military official warned on Tuesday.

The island’s armed forces monitor PLA warplanes and warships every time they cross the so-called median line in the Taiwan Strait, said Major General Lin Wen-huang. "If the PLA side continues to ignore our warnings and attempts to penetrate our territorial air space and seas, we will quickly strike back in defense of our national security," Taiwan’s Central News Agency quoted Lin, who is in charge of planning at the Taiwanese Ministry of National Defense, as saying.

On June 24, the Taiwanese defense agency detected 19 Chinese aircraft and five warships approaching the island, including J-10 and J-16 fighters. At least eight warplanes crossed the median line in the Taiwan Strait, about 24 nautical miles (44.5 km) off of the island’s coastline.

PLA aircraft are rarely detected that close to the island, with the last such incident occurring almost six months ago, on the night of January 1.

Taiwan, China’s largest island, has been governed by its local administration since 1949. Official Beijing considers Taiwan to be a province of the People’s Republic of China.