Twenty-seven Chinese warplanes flew into Taiwan’s air defence zone on Wednesday, Taipei said, after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the self-governed island that Beijing considers its own territory, AFP reported.

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“27 PLA aircraft… entered the surrounding area of (Republic of China) on August 3, 2022,” the defence ministry said in a tweet.

Pelosi had landed in Taiwan on Tuesday evening, defying a string of increasingly stark warnings and threats from China that has sent tensions between Washington and Beijing soaring.

Pelosi, second in line to the presidency, is the highest-profile elected US official to visit Taiwan in 25 years.

CHINA, TAIWAN RESPONDS

China’s military said it was on “high alert” and vowed “targeted military operations” in response to the visit. But Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen said the island of 23 million would not be cowed.

“Facing deliberately heightened military threats, Taiwan will not back down. We will continue to hold the line of defence for democracy,” Tsai said at an event with Pelosi in Taipei.

Before leaving Taiwan, Pelosi also met with several dissidents who have previously been in the crosshairs of China’s wrath, including Tiananmen protest student leader Wu’er Kaixi, AFP reported.

Pelosi left Taiwan on Wednesday evening and headed to South Korea, her next stop on the Asia tour. She will head to Japan after that.