China continues pressure on Taiwan, sending three dozen combat aircraft and seven ships to island

The ministry reported this on the social network X, Ukrinform reports.

The report does not name the types of aircraft and ships, but notes that 20 aircraft crossed the midline of the Taiwan Strait, the unofficial border between the mainland and the island, and entered Taiwan's air defence identification zone.

Some of them approached the northern tip of the island, where the capital Taipei is located, at a distance of only about 100 kilometres, while others flew less than 70 kilometres to the southern coast of Taiwan.

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The Taiwanese defence ministry assured that it had been monitoring the movement of the PLA aircraft and ships and responded accordingly.

These are the third large-scale manoeuvres of the Chinese army around Taiwan in the last week, aimed at demonstrating force and attempting to intimidate the Taiwanese into accepting Beijing's rule over the island.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, the Chinese authorities convince Taiwanese residents that their trips to the mainland are absutely safe, and that only a small number of "ardent" supporters of the island's independence in its leadership face criminal prosecution.

Photo for illustrative purposes: Taiwan Defence Ministry