Armed fighters belonging to the Taiwan Air Force on Sunday scrambled to intercept Chinese jets that flew around the island — claimed by Beijing as its own — in a move denounced by Taiwan's Defense Ministry as a threat to regional peace and stability.
China has been flying what it calls "island encirclement" drills on and off since 2016 when Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen first took office. Beijing believes Tsai, who won re-election last month, wishes to push the island's formal independence.
Tsai says Taiwan is an independent country called the Republic of China, its official name.