Taiwan's air force scrambled on Sunday to warn off eight Chinese aircraft including fighter jets that entered its air defence zone, its defence ministry said, at a time of heightened tensions across the sensitive Taiwan Strait.

Taiwan has complained for a year or more of repeated missions by China's air force near the self-ruled island, often in the southwestern part of its air defence zone near the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Islands.

The Chinese aircraft included six J-16 fighters, one anti-submarine aircraft...