Taipei [Taiwan], February 1 (ANI): Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense (MND) on Sunday said that it detected one sortie by China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft and six People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) vessels operating around its territory up to 6 am (UTC+8).

It added that the sortie crossed the median line and entered Taiwan's eastern Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ).

'1 sorties of PLA aircraft and 6 PLAN vessels operating around Taiwan were detected up until 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today. 1 out of 1 sorties crossed the median line and entered Taiwan's eastern ADIZ. We have monitored the situation and responded,' Taiwan's MND stated in a post on X.

Earlier on Saturday, the MND detected three sorties of Chinese military aircraft and eight naval vessels operating around its territory.

'3 sorties of PLA aircraft and 8 PLAN vessels operating around Taiwan were detected up until 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today. ROC Armed Forces have monitored the situation and responded,' the MND said in a post on X.

Meanwhile, South Korea and Japan have agreed to resume their bilateral naval search-and-rescue exercise for the first time in nine years as part of efforts to promote military exchange, Seoul's defence ministry said, according to the country's state media.

The meeting between the two US allies comes amid growing security threats from China and North Korea.

Ties between Tokyo and Beijing had also deteriorated since late last year following Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's remarks in which she suggested that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could be considered a 'survival-threatening situation', which would permit Japan to take military action. Beijing considers Taiwan as its own territory and maintains its right to take control of the island one day, including by force.

According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Taiwan is an integral and indivisible part of China, which has been separated from the mainland since 1949.

Under its 'one country, two systems', achieving China's complete reunification is a shared aspiration of all Chinese people, both within the country and abroad. The Communist Party of China and the Chinese government regard the fulfilment of this goal of peaceful reunification as a historic mission and have been working persistently toward it. (ANI)