The nine other aircraft that entered the southwest corner of the air defence zone were four J-16 fighter jets, two J-11 fighter jets, one KJ-500 airborne early warning plane, one Y-8 reconnaissance aircraft and one CH-4 reconnaissance drone, the ministry said.
Four PLA naval vessels were also tracked operating around Taiwan, the ministry said without elaborating.
Since Friday, the ministry has reported 107 PLA warplanes and warships operating around the island, with 38 aircraft crossing the median line and entering Taiwan’s air defence zone.
Of the 22 sorties that entered Taiwan’s ADIZ on Friday, four flew into the southeastern portion of the zone, while a WZ-7 high-altitude reconnaissance drone went east, raising concerns that the PLA is trying to increase its warplane operations in southeast and eastern Taiwan, where the island’s defences are weaker.
“The southeast and eastern side of Taiwan are considered militarily sensitive as it is the location where the military preserves its force and maintains its combat readiness in case western Taiwan is attacked by the Chinese communists,” said Chieh Chung, a security analyst at the National Policy Foundation, a think tank affiliated with the island’s main opposition party, the Kuomintang.