HONG KONG, December 8. /TASS/. The Taiwanese military registered the approach of 26 aircraft of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and 10 warships near the island in the past day, Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense said in a statement.

According to it, of those aircraft, 15 "crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait and flew into the island’s air defense identification zone southwest of it." The latest mission involved a BZK-005 drone, four Su-30 fighters, eight J-10 fighter jets, a Y-9 electronic warfare aircraft and a KJ-500 airborne early warning aircraft. Taiwanese aircraft, vessels and air defense systems were dispatched to monitor them.

Earlier, the Taiwanese military also reported spotting a Chinese balloon on Thursday. According to Taiwan’s defense agency, the balloon crossed the Taiwan Strait median line 101 nautical miles (187 km) southwest of the Taiwanese city of Keelung at about 6,400 meters in the sky.

Taiwan, China’s largest island, has been governed by its local administration since 1949. Since then, Taiwan has preserved the flag and some other symbols of the Republic of China that had existed in mainland China before the Communists came to power. Beijing considers Taiwan a province of the People’s Republic of China.