(UPDATE) TAIPEI — Taiwan's Defense Ministry said on Saturday it had detected 41 Chinese military aircraft around the island in a 24-hour window, a day after Beijing said "diehard" advocates of Taiwan's independence could face the death penalty.

China claims self-ruled, democratic Taiwan as part of its territory and has never renounced the use of force to bring it under Beijing's control.

It has stepped up pressure on Taipei in recent years and held war games around the island following the inauguration of new Taiwanese leader Lai Ching-te last month.

On Saturday, the Defense Ministry said it had detected 41 Chinese military aircraft and seven naval vessels operating around Taiwan during the 24-hour period leading up to 6 a.m.

"Thirty-two of the aircraft crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait," the ministry said in a statement, referring to a line bisecting the 180-kilometer (110-mile) waterway that separates Taiwan from China.

It has "monitored the situation and responded accordingly," it added.

The latest incursion came after China published on Friday judicial guidelines that included the death penalty for "particularly serious" cases of "diehard" supporters of Taiwanese independence, state media reported.

On May 25, Taiwan detected 62 Chinese military aircraft around the island in a 24-hour window, the highest single-day total so far this year, as China staged military drills following the inauguration of Lai, who Beijing regards as a "dangerous separatist."

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