HONG KONG /XIANGGANG/, April 17. /TASS/. The Taiwanese military has registered 18 aircraft and four ships of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) near the island in the past 24 hours, Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said in a statement on Twitter on Monday.

"As of 6:00 a.m. (1:00 a.m. Moscow time — TASS) today, 18 aircraft and four PLAN vessels were detected near Taiwan," the statement reads.

According to it, four aircraft, namely a TV-001 combat unmanned aerial vehicle, two Z-9 military utility helicopters and a J-11 fighter, entered the southwestern and the southeastern sectors of Taiwan’s air defense identification zone. In response, the Taiwanese military sent air patrols and also activated air defense systems to track the Chinese aircraft.

On April 8-10, the PLAN conducted an exercise, called Joint Sword, in the Taiwan Strait, and in the waters north, south and east of the island. That coincided with patrols around Taiwan.

The exercise came after a stopover in the United States by Taiwanese leader Tsai Ing-wen. On April 5, US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy held a meeting with Tsai, after which the US emphasized the need to continue weapons sales to Taiwan. The Chinese Foreign Ministry issued a protest, warning that Beijing would take effective and resolute retaliatory measures.

The PLA has been regularly sending its aircraft and warships to the vicinity of Taiwan amid tensions between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait that escalated after former Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi paid a visit to Taipei last August. She was followed by several more delegations of US lawmakers and governors. China criticized the trips as provocations, interpreting them as interference in its internal affairs and support for Taiwanese separatists.

Taiwan, China’s largest island, has been governed by its local administration since 1949. Official Beijing considers Taiwan a province of the People’s Republic of China. Washington remains Taipei’s key supplier of weapons and military hardware.