Taipei, Taiwan - Authorities in Taipei have detected six Chinese spy balloons in their territory, the Taiwanese defense ministry revealed on Friday, as Beijing continues to bolster its presence in the Strait.

The six balloons were spotted on Thursday, Taipei's defense ministry said, and account for one of the highest numbers of such devices to have ever been deployed in Taiwan's airspace within a 24-hour period.

Taipei detected the balloons at altitudes between 16,000 and 20,000 feet. One of them flew directly over the island, as was shown in a map illustration posted to the Defense Ministry's account on X.

In addition to the balloons, nine Chinese military aircraft, six warships, and two official ships were detected near the island nation and in the Taiwan Strait over the same 24-hour period.

China Hong Kong to file complaint with WTO over Trump tariffs

"9 PLA aircraft, 6 PLAN vessels and 2 official ships operating around Taiwan were detected up until 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today," Taiwan's Ministry of Defense said in a statement.

"ROC Armed Forces have monitored the situation and employed CAP aircraft, Navy ships, and coastal missile systems in response to detected activities."

Taiwan regularly faces aggression from the Chinese military, as Beijing continues to claim that the island nation is part of China's sovereign territory.

Over the course of last year, Beijing argued that Taiwanese "separatists" were causing regional instability. On top of launching numerous military operations, China introduced a range of sanctions against US companies that provide military equipment to Taipei.

"The greatest challenge to cross-Strait peace is 'Taiwan independence' separatist activities and foreign interference and disruption," Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said in January. "The US needs to abide by the one-China principle."