TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Ministry of National Defense (MND) tracked 153 Chinese military aircraft, 14 naval vessels, and 12 official ships around Taiwan between 5 a.m. on Monday (Oct. 14) and 6 a.m. on Tuesday. 

Of the 153 People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft, 111 crossed the Taiwan Strait median line and entered the nation’s northern, western, southwestern, and eastern air defense identification zone (ADIZ), according to the MND.

In response, Taiwan sent aircraft and naval ships and deployed coastal-based missile systems to monitor PLA activities. 

China at 5 a.m. on Monday announced the large-scale “Joint Sword-2024B” military drills around Taiwan as a warning against “separatist acts” following President Lai Ching-te’s (賴清德) National Day speech. Thirteen hours later, the PLA said the drills had been “successfully completed.” 

The MND said it changed its period of tracking Chinese military activity from 5 a.m. on Oct. 14 to 6 a.m. on Oct. 15 to coincide with the PLA exercises. It noted that some vessels and aircraft detected were also included in Monday’s PLA activity report. 

“Any drills without prior warning will cause great disturbance to peace and stability in the entire region,” Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said in Taipei, according to Reuters. “China’s drills not only affect Taiwan’s neighborhood but also seriously affect the entire international navigational rights and air and sea space, so attracted the attention of other countries.”

Meanwhile, the US Department of Defense called the PLA drills “irresponsible, disproportionate, and destabilizing” in a statement on Monday.