A total of 35 Chinese military aircraft and eight naval ships were detected in areas around Taiwan on Friday, of which 15 warplanes crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait, according to the Ministry of National Defense (MND).

The incursions took place while United States Senator Marsha Blackburn, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, is in Taiwan for a three-day visit.

MND data showed three Shenyang J-11s, four J-16s and eight Sukhoi SU-30 fighter jets flew across the median line of the Taiwan Strait, while three Chengdu J-10 fighter jets flew into the southwestern part of Taiwan’s air defense identification zone.

The MND did not release the flight paths of the other planes.

The ministry said it scrambled combat air and naval patrols and deployed defense missile systems to track the Chinese military aircraft.

Meanwhile, China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Eastern Theater Command announced on Weibo (the Chinese version of Twitter) Friday evening that it will conduct a series of military drills around Taiwan over the next few days as part of normal Chinese military exercises.

In addition to announcing the start of new Chinese military drills during Blackburn’s visit, China has announced and conducted drills since after the departure of U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi earlier this month.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel