"[A total of] 33 PLA aircraft and 10 PLAN [People's Liberation Army Navy] vessels around Taiwan were detected by 6 a.m. (UTC+8) [22:00 GMT] today. R.O.C. Armed Forces have monitored the situation and tasked CAP aircraft, Navy vessels, and land-based missile systems to respond these activities," the ministry tweeted.
It added that 12 of the detected aircraft, including SU-30, J-10 and J-16 jets, Y-8 transport aircraft, a WZ-7 drone and a Z-9 helicopter, had entered the island's southwest and southeast air defense identification zone.
The situation around Taiwan recently escalated again after Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen met with US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in April, with Beijing launching massive three-day military drills near the island in what it called a "warning" to Taiwanese separatists and foreign powers.
Taiwan has been governed independently of mainland China since 1949. Beijing regards the island as its province, while Taiwan — a territory with its own elected government — maintains that it is an autonomous country but stops short of declaring independence. Beijing opposes any official foreign contacts with Taipei and regards Chinese sovereignty over the island as indisputable.