Taiwan detects dozens of Chinese military aircraft, ships as Japanese warship cruises past island

Taiwan said Thursday that 43 Chinese aircraft and eight naval vessels were detected around the democratic island within a 24-hour period, movements that came as a Japanese warship cruised through the sensitive Taiwan Strait.

China, which claims democratic Taiwan as part of its territory, sends warplanes, drones and naval vessels around the island nearly every day.

The latest incursions came as Japanese media reported that a Japanese warship sailed through the sensitive Taiwan Strait for the first time to assert its freedom of navigation.

There was no immediate confirmation from Tokyo of the passage, which media reports said took place on Wednesday following similar journeys by US and European navies in recent years.