Taiwan reports surge of Chinese military aircraft, ships operating nearby

TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwan's defence ministry reported a surge of Chinese military activity around the island on Tuesday, including 47 military aircraft, with Taiwan on high alert following the return of its president from a U.S. trip.

China, which views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, had been expected to launch drills to express its anger at President Lai Ching-te's tour of the Pacific that ended on Friday, which included stopovers in Hawaii and the U.S. territory of Guam.

Taiwan's military raised its alert level on Monday after saying China had reserved airspace and deployed naval and coast guard vessels. China's military has yet to comment and has not confirmed it is carrying out any exercises.

On Tuesday, Taiwan's defence ministry said it detected 47 military aircraft operating around the island over the past 24 hours, as well as 12 navy vessels and nine "official" ships, which refers to vessels from ostensibly civilian agencies such as the coast guard.

Of the aircraft, 26 flew in an area to the north of Taiwan off the coast of China's Zhejiang province, six in the Taiwan Strait and a further 15 to the island's southwest, according to a map the ministry provided in its daily morning statement on Chinese activities.

A senior Taiwan security source told Reuters that the Chinese aircraft simulated attacks on foreign naval ships and practised driving away military and civilian aircraft as part of a "blockade exercise".

Lai and his government reject Beijing's sovereignty claims, saying only Taiwan's people can decide their future.

China says the Taiwan issue is the "core of its core interests" and a red line the United States should not cross.

China has held two rounds of major war games around Taiwan so far this year.

(Reporting by Yimou Lee and Ben Blanchard; Editing by Jamie Freed and Saad Sayeed)