Taiwan's defence ministry said on Tuesday it had detected a record number of 153 Chinese military aircraft participating in China's war games around the island the previous day, detailing a surge in warplane activity.

China employed a record 125 aircraft, as well as its Liaoning aircraft carrier and ships, in large-scale military exercises surrounding Taiwan and its outlying islands Monday, simulating the sealing off of key ports in a move that underscores the tense situation in the Taiwan Strait,

The Chinese military said the exercises, which will simulate strikes on land and at sea, would serve as “a stern warning” to “Taiwan independence forces.”