Taiwan warns off Chinese fighters that approached island

Taiwan's air force warned off several Chinese fighter jets that briefly enteredTaiwan's air defence identification zone to its southwest on Tuesday, the defence ministry said.

The Su-30 fighters, some of China's most advanced jets, were given verbal warnings to leave andTaiwanese air force jets "drove away" the intruders, the ministry added.

Taiwanhas complained that China, which claims the democratic island as its own, has stepped up military activities in recent months, menacingTaiwaneven as the world deals with the coronavirus pandemic.

China says such exercises are nothing unusual.

China has never renounced the use of force to bringTaiwanunder its control. One of China's most senior generals last month said China would attack if there was no other way of stoppingTaiwan from becoming independent.

China is deeply suspicious ofTaiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, whom it accuses of being a separatist bent on declaring formal independence. Tsai saysTaiwanis already an independent country called the Republic of China, its official name.

U.S. also steps up military activities

The United States has stepped up its military activities near the island too, with semi-regular navy voyages through the narrowTaiwanStrait.

A U.S. C-40A, a military version of the Boeing 737, had enteredTaiwanese air space with permission, though it did not land at anyTaiwanese airports,Taiwan's defence ministry said in a separate statement on Tuesday.

The U.S. aircraft took off from Japan's Okinawa island, where there is a major U.S. air base, and flew over northern and westernTaiwanon its way to Southeast Asia,Taiwanese media reported.

While Washington and Taipei have no formal diplomatic ties, the United States isTaiwan's strongest international supporter and main arms supplier, which is another source of U.S.-China tension.