Taiwan scrambled fighter jets as 18 Chinese aircraft buzzed the island, crossing the sensitive mid-line of the Taiwan Strait, in response to a senior US official holding talks in Taipei.
China had earlier announced combat drills and denounced what it called collusion between the island, which it claims as part of its territory, and the US.
US Undersecretary for Economic Affairs Keith Krach arrived in Taipei on Thursday for a three-day visit, the most senior State Department official to come to Taiwan in four decades – to which China had promised a “necessary response”.
