Taiwan's Defense Ministry reported that 175 Chinese military planes flew across the Taiwan Strait median line in June.
The single-month figure was the highest since 290 flights in August 2022, when then-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan sparked a backlash from Beijing. The tally topped the 149 crossings in April 2023, when then-Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen traveled to the U.S.
The number of median line crossings "is a barometer of the intensity of the military and political pressure on Taiwan," said Wang Tsun-yen, an associate research fellow at Taiwan's Institute for National Defense and Security Research. More Chinese military aircraft have gone beyond the boundary under President Xi Jinping's leadership.
The flights have continued into July. Taiwan's Defense Ministry said Tuesday that 13 People's Liberation Army aircraft were detected operating around Taiwan in 24 hours. Of these, 10 crossed the median line. Six ships were spotted in the area as well, according to the ministry.
"We have monitored the situation and responded accordingly," the ministry said.
More Chinese helicopters, drones and other aircraft have flown over Taiwan's east side, the far side of the island from mainland China's perspective. Eighteen such forays were reported in June, two more than in May and the most this year.
Beijing regards self-governing Taiwan as an inseparable part of one China.
A Taiwanese security researcher said that Beijing's goal is to control the waters and airspace in this area, alongside similar moves in the East and South China seas, to box in Taiwan on three sides. Taipei scrambles F-16 fighter jets in response to each airspace incursion, which has raised concerns about an unintentional clash.
"China's air force is having different types of aircraft operate together to enhance its ability to strike at sea," said Su Tzu-yun, director of the Institute for National Defense in Taipei.
Chinese naval and coast guard vessels have also sailed into "restricted waters" near the outlying island of Kinmen, crossing a boundary set by Taiwanese authorities, Taipei says. Taipei sees these incursions as attempts to change the status quo through force.
China has accused Lai of being a Taiwan separatist, at a time when Beijing is cracking down more heavily on supporters of independence. The Chinese government in June imposed strict new guidelines on punishing advocates for Taiwanese independence, up to and including the death penalty for "diehard separatists."
Lai said in his inaugural address in May that "the Republic of China and the People's Republic of China are not subordinate to each other," infuriating Beijing.
He reiterated this view in June, saying it is a "consensus of the society" in Taiwan, and asserted that "Taiwan will not give in" to Chinese coercion.