Taiwan detects 41 Chinese military aircraft, ships ahead of Lai US stopover

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Taiwan said Friday it detected 41 Chinese military aircraft and ships around the island ahead of a Hawaii stopover by President Lai Ching-te, part of a Pacific tour that has sparked fury in Beijing.

Beijing insists self-ruled Taiwan is part of its territory and opposes any international recognition of the island and its claim to be a sovereign nation.

To press its claims, China deploys fighter jets, drones and warships around Taiwan on a near-daily basis, with the number of sorties increasing in recent years.

In the 24 hours to 6:00 am on Friday (2200 GMT Thursday), Taiwan's defense ministry said it had detected 33 Chinese aircraft and eight navy vessels in its airspace and waters.

That included 19 aircraft that took part in China's "joint combat readiness patrol" on Thursday evening and was the highest number in more than three weeks, according to an AFP tally of figures released daily by the ministry.

Taiwan also spotted a balloon -- the fourth since Sunday -- about 172 kilometres (107 miles) west of the island.

"It can't be ruled out that there will be a relatively large-scale military exercise in response to Lai's visit," Su Tzu-yun, a military expert at Taiwan's Institute for National Defense and Security Research, told AFP.

Lai, an outspoken defender of Taiwan's sovereignty and whom China calls a "separatist", departs Saturday on his first overseas trip since taking office in May.

He will stop briefly in Hawaii and the US territory of Guam to meet "old friends", as he visits Taiwan's three remaining allies in the Pacific.

Taiwanese government officials have previously stopped over on US soil during visits to the Pacific or Latin America, angering China, which has sometimes responded with military drills around the island.

China has reacted furiously to Lai's planned trip, with a spokesperson for the defense ministry vowing Thursday to "resolutely crush" any attempts for Taiwan independence.

Asked whether China's military would take countermeasures over Lai's Pacific tour, Wu Qian said: "We firmly oppose official interaction with China's Taiwan region in any form."

China has staged two large-scale military drills around Taiwan since Lai