TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Ministry of National Defense (MND) said it had tracked 71 Chinese military aircraft and nine naval ships by 4 p.m. Saturday (April 8), including 45 planes which either crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait or entered Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ) from the southwest.

The increased Chinese activity coincided with a series of military drills around Taiwan in the wake of President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) April 5 meeting with United States House Speaker Kevin McCarthy during a stopover in California.

Types of Chinese plane monitored by the MND Saturday included the J-10, J-11, and J-16 fighter jets, the Xi’an Y-20 transport plane, the H-6K strategic bomber, and the KJ-500 early warning aircraft, CNA reported.

The ministry usually waits until the next morning after 6 a.m. to publish numbers and types of Chinese planes and ships spotted around Taiwan. On Saturday, it also issued a photo taken from the Cheng Kung-class Chang Chien missile frigate showing Navy officers monitoring the movements of China’s Ma’anshan frigate.

The military said it tasked aircraft in Combat Air Patrols (CAP) and naval vessels, and deployed land-based air defense missile systems to monitor the activities of the Chinese military ships and aircraft.

The armed forces would increase their vigilance and readiness, but would stay away from provocations and raising tension, the MND said, accusing China of causing regional insecurity and instability.