The Chinese have stepped up military exercises near the island after witnessing the close relationship between Taipei and Washington.
18 Chinese aircraft on Friday buzzed the small island country of Taiwan including crossing the sensitive mid-line of the Taiwan Strait prompting the latter to scramble fighter jets sparking new tensions between the countries.
China had earlier announced the start of combat drills near the Taiwan Strait which it claims as part of its territory.
The Chinese have stepped up military exercises near the island after witnessing the close relationship between Taipei and Washington. U.S. Undersecretary for Economic Affairs Keith Krach arrived in Taipei on Thursday for a three-day visit, the most senior State Department official to come to Taiwan in four decades which has irked the Chinese government.
China has responded to the recent meeting, saying that a "necessary response" is awaiting the island country and the United States.
Taiwan stated that 18 Chinese aircraft crossed into their airspace, far larger number than it has previously announced. Taiwan's defence ministry further showed a map of the flight paths of Chinese jets crossing the Taiwan Strait mid-line, which normally combat aircraft from both sides avoid passing through.
"Sep. 18, two H-6 bombers, eight J-16 fighters, four J-10 fighters and four J-11 fighters crossed the midline of the TaiwanStrait and entered Taiwan`s southwest ADIZ," the defence ministry said in an English-language tweet.
Krach, who arrived in Taipei on Thursday afternoon, is in Taiwan for a memorial service on Saturday for former President Lee Teng-hui, who was revered by many on the island and internationally as the father of Taiwan's democracy. Krach is expected to meet Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen on Friday.
At a press conference on Friday morning, a Chinese defence ministry spokesman said Beijing was "holding actual combat exercises near the Taiwan Strait" when asked how Beijing would respond to Krach's visit.
"This is a legitimate and necessary action taken to safeguard China's sovereignty and territorial integrity in response to the current situation in the Taiwan Strait," Ren Guoqiang
"We urge the US side to fully recognise the extreme sensitivity of the Taiwan issue," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said.
Relations between China and the United States have nosedived in recent months, with disagreements over Taiwan, trade, human rights, the coronavirus pandemic and other issues.
China views Taiwan's president as a dangerous separatist.
Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen has maintained that the island is already an independent country called the Republic of China, Taiwan`s formal name.
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