At the same time, Beijing condemned the latest round of US arms sales to the island.
On 25 October, the US State Department approved a $2 billion arms sales package to Taiwan, including advanced surface-to-air missile systems and radars. The deal has yet to be approved by Congress.
Taiwan's Defense Ministry said it intercepted 19 Chinese aircraft, including fighter jets and drones, flying near the island for nearly four hours on October 27 as part of Beijing's "joint combat readiness patrol" with warships.
This is the third such patrol reported by Taiwan's Ministry of Defense this month.
"Taiwan's military closely monitored the situation with joint intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems, deploying aircraft, warships and coastal missile systems as an appropriate response," the ministry said.
The Taiwan Affairs Office in Beijing said the latest arms package shows that Washington has "time and again contradicted its leaders' promises not to support 'Taiwan independence' and harmed peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait region."
"'Taiwan independence' is as incompatible with cross-Strait peace as fire is with water," spokesman Zhu Fengliang said.
"We urge the US to stop arming Taiwan and stop sending wrong signals to the 'Taiwan independence' forces."
On October 26, Beijing's Foreign Ministry condemned the arms package and announced it had "made solemn submissions" to the United States.
A ministry spokesman added that Beijing would "take all necessary measures to firmly defend national sovereignty, security and territorial integrity".
A day earlier, Taipei's defence ministry expressed its "sincere gratitude" for the sale, saying it would "help the army continue to improve its defence resilience and jointly maintain peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait".
China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and refuses to rule out the possibility of using force to bring the self-governing island under its control.
Beijing maintains a near-daily presence of fighter jets, drones and warships around the democratic island and this month conducted large-scale military exercises near Taiwan.
On October 15, Taiwan reported that it had detected 153 Chinese warplanes in the previous 25 hours - the most in a single day.
The United States is a key partner and arms supplier to Taipei, although it has no formal diplomatic relations with the island.
In September, Beijing imposed sanctions on U.S. defense companies in response to Washington's approval of military equipment sales to Taiwan. | BGNES
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