HONG KONG, February 11. /TASS/. Eight Chinese balloons as well as six aircraft of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and four warships of the PLA Navy were spotted near Taiwan in the past day, the Taiwanese Ministry of National Defense said in a report.

According to it, the balloons were detected after crossing the Taiwan Strait median line.

One of the six Chinese warplanes flew into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone southwest off the island, the Taiwanese military said. Taiwanese aircraft, vessels and air defense systems were dispatched to monitor them, the report reads.

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.