According to Taipei, this is one of the greatest Chinese incursions into Taiwan's air defence identification zone since early October. It comes only days after an EU group visited Taipei to strengthen ties.

On Saturday, the ministry claimed it gave radio alerts and used air defence systems to monitor the aircraft. The planes entered the ADIZ off Taiwan's southern coast, similar to previous incursions.

The number of aircraft launched into the ADIZ is the most since early October when the People's Liberation Army (PLA) sent roughly 150 warplanes into the zone in five different drills.

What exactly is Taiwan's ADIZ?

The ADIZ stretches hundreds of kilometres from Taiwan's shore and even extends into sections of mainland China. It is far bigger than Taiwan's sovereign air space, which reaches only 12 nautical miles from the coast.

The ADIZ is designated airspace for national security purposes, although it is not defined in international treaties. Taiwanese authorities reserve the authority to require aircraft entering the ADIZ to identify themselves and their intended destination.

Although China has regularly flown fewer aircraft into the ADIZ in recent weeks, the warplanes have not breached Taiwan's sovereign airspace.