 Tensions escalate as China sends 39 warplanes towards Taiwan. Tensions have escalated between China and Taiwan, as Beijing sends 39 warplanes and three ships towards the island in the past 24 hours. Taiwan's defense ministry said on Thursday some sort of the Chinese planes crossed the median of the Taiwan Strait between 6 a.m. Wednesday and 6 a.m. Thursday, according to Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense. Taiwan Strait is an unofficial boundary once tacitly accepted by both sides. Only in recent years has stepped up its display of force towards Taiwan. With Communist Party's People's Liberation Army sending planes or ships towards the self-ruled island on a near-daily basis. Beijing considers Taiwan as its own territory, while the island strives for independence. In August, China held its largest military drill in Taiwan in decades, following House Representative Nancy Pelosi's visit to the island. Beijing perceived Pelosi's visit as a violation of its sovereignty and the fact that it is the recognition of the island.