The Ministry of National Defense today reported a spike in Chinese military activity around the nation, including 53 military aircraft.
China's military has yet to comment and has not confirmed it is carrying out any military exercises.
China had been expected to launch drills to express anger at President William Lai's (賴清德) tour of the Pacific that ended on Friday last week, which included stopovers in Hawaii and the US territory of Guam.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of National Defense
Yesterday, the ministry said China was deploying its largest navy fleet in regional waters in nearly three decades.
A US military official said China's naval deployments in the East China Sea and South China Sea are elevated, but consistent with other large exercises in the past.
As of 6am today, the ministry said it detected 53 military aircraft operating around the nation over the past 24 hours, as well as 11 navy vessels and eight "official" ships, which refers to vessels from ostensibly civilian agencies such as the coast guard.
Of the aircraft, 23 crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait and entered the nation's northern, southwestern and eastern air defense identification zones, it added.
The ministry said it has monitored the situation and responded.
The military went gone on alert on Monday after saying China had reserved airspace and deployed naval and coast guard vessels.
China has held two rounds of major war games around Taiwan so far this year.
Additional reporting by Kayleigh Madjar
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