(UPDATE) KINMEN, Taiwan — Taiwanese must be united against the threat from China, leader Lai Ching-te said Friday, as the island commemorated the 66th anniversary of a deadly Chinese artillery attack.

Beijing claims democratic Taiwan as part of its territory and has never renounced the use of force to bring the island under its control.

The anniversary of the assault on the Kinmen islands, known as the "823 bombardment," comes as China has ramped up military and political pressure on Taiwan in recent years.

Controlled by Taiwan, the islands lie just three miles from the Chinese coast.

Lai, who took office in May, laid a wreath to commemorate the bombardment's victims at a cemetery during his first trip to Kinmen as leader.

"We must be determined to protect Taiwan" and carry on the spirit of the soldiers who faced the 823 bombardment, he said at a banquet attended by veterans and their families.

China's People's Liberation Army fired 470,000 shells at Kinmen and nearby islets in 1958, killing 618 servicemen and civilians in an attack that lasted 44 days.

"At present, the threat Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu face from China is no less than previous years," he said, referring to three outlying island chains under Taipei's control.

"If we want to resist the threat from China in the future, we must unite as one. ... We have only one goal — defend national sovereignty and safeguard democracy."

Lai has been branded a "dangerous separatist" by China for his staunch defense of Taiwan's sovereignty, and Beijing conducted large-scale military drills around the island just days after his inauguration.

Taiwan's military has been reporting near-daily sightings of Chinese warships around its waters, as well as sorties by fighter jets and drones around the island.

On Friday, the defense ministry said 41 Chinese military aircraft and seven naval vessels were detected in a 24-hour window ending at 6 a.m.