Chinese warplanes entered Taiwan's air defence zone today in retaliation to Nancy Pelosi visiting Taiwan which infuriated Beijing.
It has been reported that 27 fighter jets, including 16 Russian-made Su-30 jets, crossed into the area, which prompted defensive measures from Taipei.
Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, visited Taiwan on Tuesday despite China threatening the US with consequences.
China views Taiwan as part of its country in a breakaway province and Chinese President Xi Jinping is desperate to officially seize the island, saying he would annexe it by force if necessary.
In 1949, Taiwan and China split after the Communists won a civil war on the mainland.
Then in 2016, China cut off all contact with Taiwan’s government after Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen refused to endorse Bejing’s claim that the island and mainland together make up a single Chinese nation.
China’s state-run Global Times said Ms Pelosi’s visit could catalyse the “reunification” process of Taiwan with China. And China has ramped up its military presence to try and force the island to accept Chinese rule.
In the latest uptick in tensions across the Taiwan Strait, Taiwan said it dispatched aircraft and deployed missile systems to "monitor" the Chinese activities in its air defence identification zone.
Taipei's generals said on Wednesday that they are not looking for a fight with China but "won't shy away from" one either.
They said in a statement: "We are resolved to uphold our sovereignty, liberty and democracy."
A source familiar with Taiwan's security planning told Reuters that the 22 jets that crossed the median line did not fly too far into the unofficial buffer from the Chinese side.
Foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) group are very worried about the rising tensions concerning Taiwan, an official from chair country Cambodia said today.
Ms Pelosi became the highest-ranking American official in 25 years to visit the Island and took the trip as part of the US' obligation to stand with democracies (Taiwan) against autocratic countries (China).
China announced, minutes after Pelosi's arrival, that it would conduct "important military exercises and training activities" in certain mapped areas.
Three of the planned zones for the so-called exercises intrude into Taiwan's waters and three are positioned to the island's east - effectively cutting it off from the Pacific.
Taiwan officials said the live fire drills violate United Nations rules, invade Taiwan's territorial space and are a direct challenge to free air and sea navigation.
