SpaceWar.com reports: “Taiwan said it detected 37 Chinese fighter jets, drones and other aircraft near the self-ruled island on Sunday as Beijing carried out ‘long-distance’ training flights.

China has ramped up military activity around Taiwan in recent years as Beijing pressures Taipei to accept its claims of sovereignty over the island.

The Chinese aircraft were spotted from 9:00 am (0100 GMT) and 35 of them crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait, which separates mainland China and Taiwan, and entered Taiwanese airspace on their way to the Western Pacific Ocean, the defence ministry said.

Taiwan’s military responded by deploying aircraft, naval vessels and shore-based missile systems, the ministry said.

The exercise came a day after Taiwan said it had detected a Chinese military ‘joint combat readiness patrol’ around the island involving fighter jets and warships…”