SHANGHAI, April 5. /TASS/. China has started patrolling the Taiwan Strait ahead of the upcoming meeting of Taiwanese regional leader Tsai Ing-wen and US House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy during the Taiwanese official’s transit through the US, the Maritime Affairs Administration of the eastern Chinese province of Fujian reported on Wednesday on its official WeChat messenger account.

"A special joint patrol and inspection began today in the central and northern parts of the Taiwan Strait," the agency said in a brief statement. No details were given about the forces and resources involved in the operation.

In the meantime, Taiwan has reported the approach of 14 aircraft and three ships of the People’s Liberation Army of China (PLA) in the region near the island over the past 24 hours, Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said in a statement posted on Twitter.

"14 PLA aircraft and 3 PLAN vessels around Taiwan were detected by 6 a.m. (1 a.m. Moscow time — TASS) today," the statement said.

According to it, two aircraft crossed the so-called midline of the Taiwan Strait and entered the island’s air defense identification zone. The vehicles were: a BZK-005 reconnaissance drone and a Y-8 aircraft. According to the Taiwanese Defense Ministry, "R.O.C. Armed Forces have monitored the situation and tasked CAP aircraft, Navy vessels, and land-based missile systems to respond these activities."

The PLA has been regularly patrolling the waters near the island in recent months. Tensions in the Taiwan Strait escalated after former Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi paid a visit to Taipei last August. China considers such visits as provocations and interference in its domestic affairs.

Taiwan has been governed by its own administration since 1949, when the remnants of the Kuomintang forces led by Chiang Kai-shek (1887-1975) fled there after their defeat in the Chinese Civil War. Official Beijing considers Taiwan a province of the People’s Republic of China and urges foreign countries to comply with the ‘one-China’ policy. Washington remains Taipei’s largest arms and military equipment supplies.