BEIJING — China dispatched 74 military aircraft towards the Taiwan Strait between late Thursday and early Friday, with 61 of them crossing its median line, the Taiwanese defence ministry has said.

The incursion, which represents one of the largest in recent months, began a day after the UK sailed a navy ship across the strait, in a move welcomed by Taipei but condemned by Beijing.

The Chinese planes were sent in two separate waves, with six naval vessels also accompanying the maneuvers, according to Taiwan.

Beijing regards the democratically governed island as part of its own territory and has stepped up such deployments to demonstrate its readiness to encircle and potentially invade Taiwan.

Analysts say the moves are also aimed at intimidating Taiwan’s population and exhausting its military resources and morale.

Taiwan responded by scrambling its own fighter jets, deploying naval ships and activating land-based missile systems to monitor the incursion.

The incident came after the British patrol vessel HMS Spey passed through the Taiwan Strait on Wednesday.

Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcome the patrol, saying it “once again (reaffirmed the Strait's) status as international waters".

“Such transits by the UK and other like-minded countries are encouraged to safeguard peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, and to promote a free and open Indo-Pacific,” it added.

Britain’s de facto embassy in Taipei said the HMS Spey was legally within its rights to sail through the strait.

“Wherever the Royal Navy operates, it does so in full compliance with international law and exercises its right to Freedom of Navigation and overflight,” it stated.

However, Beijing condemned the Royal Navy’s actions, with the Chinese army saying the British vessel had “deliberately disturbed the situation and undermined the peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait".

While the timing raised speculation, it remains unclear whether China's large-scale aerial deployment was a direct response to the British naval transit.

The Taiwan Strait is an important international waterway, but Beijing routinely objects to the presence of foreign military vessels in the area. — Euronews