Chinese warplanes circle Taiwan

Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense detected 33 Chinese military aircraft and seven naval ships operating around the island.

More than 30 Chinese military aircraft were detected around Taiwan in a 24-hour window, the island’s defense ministry said Saturday.

Ahead of Taiwan’s 13 January poll, Beijing warned voters that presidential candidate Lai Ching-te — the current vice president whom China has called a “dangerous separatist” — would bring “war and decline” if chosen to lead.

Lai still won the election, securing an unprecedented third term for the Democratic Progressive Party, which has long rejected China’s territorial claim on Taiwan.

China claims Taiwan as part of its territory, and has never renounced the use of force to try to bring the self-ruled island under its control.

In the 24 hours leading up to 6 a.m. Saturday, the Ministry of National Defense detected 33 Chinese military aircraft and seven naval ships operating around Taiwan, it said in a statement.

Thirteen of the aircraft “crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait,” it said.

Taiwan’s armed forces have “monitored the situation and employed (air patrol) aircraft, navy vessels, and coastal missile systems in response to the detected activities.”

Two Chinese balloons were also detected crossing the sensitive Taiwan Strait, which separates China from the island.

The show of force also came after a visit by two American lawmakers to Taipei to meet president-elect Lai and his running mate Hsiao Bi-khim — criticized by Beijing as an “independence duo.”

Lai has in the past been outspoken about the issue — a red line for China — calling himself a “pragmatic worker of Taiwan independence.”

But he has moderated his stance and vowed to follow President Tsai Ing-wen’s path of maintaining the status quo while bolstering the island’s defense capabilities.