Taipei: The island's defence ministry reported on Wednesday that China had sent navy ships and a sizable number of aircraft, including bombers and fighter jets, towards Taiwan over the course of two days. This was before the island began its annual military drills to prepare for a potential invasion.

Between 6 a.m. on Tuesday and 6 a.m. on Wednesday, the Chinese People's Liberation Army sent 38 warplanes and 9 navy vessels over Taiwan. The military flew an additional 30 aircraft from Wednesday morning until noon, including fighters J-10 and J-16.

32 of these did so across the Taiwan Strait's midline, an unofficial line that served as a barrier between the island and the mainland. On Wednesday night, 23 more aircraft passed over the midline.

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Later this month, Taiwan's military will conduct combat readiness drills against preventing an invasion as part of the annual Han Guang exercise. Additionally, it will carry out the yearly Wan'an drills, which simulate evacuations in the event of an air raid and are intended to prepare civilians for natural disasters.

In recent years, China has increased the number of military planes sent towards Taiwan as a way of expressing its displeasure with political activities taking place in Taiwan, which it claims as its own territory. In the past year, it has also begun using drones and navy ships to patrol the waters close to the island.

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During the drills on Tuesday and Wednesday, the PLA flew H-6 bombers in a wide loop south of Taiwan, passing the island before making a second loop back towards China's southern coast.

As a result of former US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan in August of last year, it has conducted its largest military exercises in recent years. It significantly escalated the situation by firing missiles over the island, and the military drills forced planes to reroute their flights and disrupted trade routes in the Taiwan Strait.

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In response to Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen's meeting with the current Speaker of the US House, Kevin McCarthy, in April, the PLA conducted extensive combat readiness drills in the air and waters surrounding the island.