Dozens of Chinese planes enter Taiwan air defense zone, ministry says

Oct. 2 (UPI) -- Dozens of Chinese military planes flew into the Taiwan air defense identification zone Saturday, marking Beijing's largest incursion to date, Taiwanese military officials said.

Twenty Chinese planes flew through the area after 38 flybys in two waves Friday, which included nuclear-capable bombers, according to Taiwan's defense ministry updates.

On Friday, 25 Chinese army planes entered the southwestern part of the the air defense identification zone followed by 13 Chinese aircraft flying by the same area at night.

Taiwan's military responded each time with radio warnings to leave and air defense missile systems to monitor the activity.

An air defense identification zone is an area of airspace where foreign aircraft are identified, monitored and controlled for national security.

Taiwan has complained for more than a year about the Chinese air force's repeated missions near the island, according to the BBC.

"China has been wantonly engaged in military aggression, damaging regional peace," Taiwanese Premier Su Tseng-chang told reporters Saturday.

Taiwan has seen itself as a sovereign state and Beijing has seen it as a breakaway province since the civil war in the 1940s where China and Taiwan were divided, the BBC noted.