New Delhi: Taiwan has warned China to stop “irresponsible provocative actions” after a record number of Chinese warplanes entered its air defence zone.
Monday’s incursion marks the fourth straight day of incursions by Chinese aircraft, with almost 150 aircraft sent into Taiwan’s defence zone in total.
Some analysts say the flights could be seen as a warning to Taiwan’s president ahead of the island’s national day.
In an essay for Foreign Affairs magazine on Tuesday, Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen warned there would be “catastrophic” consequences for peace and democracy in Asia if the island were to fall to China.
“It would signal that in today’s global contest of values, authoritarianism has the upper hand over democracy,” she wrote.
Ms Tsai added that while Taiwan did not seek confrontation, Taiwan would “do whatever it takes to defend itself”.
Taiwan has been reporting for more than a year that China’s air force has been repeatedly flying nearby.
The latest Chinese mission included 34 J-16 fighters and 12 nuclear-capable H-6 bombers, which all flew in an area near the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Islands, according to a map provided by the Taiwanese government.
Four more Chinese fighters were spotted late on Monday, taking the total to 56 aircraft in one day.
Taiwan’s top China policy-making body, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), accused Beijing of “seriously damaging the status quo of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait”.
“We demand the Beijing authorities immediately stop its non-peaceful and irresponsible provocative actions,” MAC spokesman Chiu Chui-cheng said in a statement.
“China is the culprit for causing tensions between the two sides of the (Taiwan) Strait and it has further threatened regional security and order,” he added, saying Taiwan “will never compromise and yield” to threats.