38 Chinese aircraft passed over the Taiwan Strait

Earlier on Friday, at least 38 Chinese aircraft and a warplane were allegedly crossing the Taiwan Strait.

According to the statement made by the Taiwan Ministry of Defense, the Chinese jets, including the TB-001 drone, crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait and entered Taiwan's southwest, southeast, and northeast air defense identification zone (ADIZ).

Taiwanese armed forces “monitored the situation while they also tasked its aircraft, navy vessels, and land-based missile systems to respond to these activities,” said the statement.

6 CHINESE NAVAL VESSELS WERE ALSO DETECTED

According to Anadolu, besides jets, six Chinese naval vessels were also detected by the island nation.

“The TB-001 drone flew to the southern tip of the ADIZ and then to its southeastern and eastern sections before returning from air space north of the Island,” Taipei-based Focus Taiwan reported, citing Taiwanese defense officials.

The drone, also known as the “Twin-Tailed Scorpion,” is a medium-altitude, long-range combat unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) manufactured by China's Sichuan Tengden Technology, according to the report.

'A PATROL AIRCRAFT FLEW OVER THE TAIWAN STRAIT'

Drone flying around Taiwan, which China claims as its “breakaway province,” comes as a US reconnaissance aircraft also flew over Taiwan Strait.

Colonel Shi Yi, a spokesman for the Eastern Theater Command of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), said: “A US P-8A anti-submarine patrol aircraft flew over the Taiwan Strait.”

The PLA flew its jets and followed the US plane.

(AA)