The air force of Taiwan came into action on Sunday after 10 Chinese warplanes were spotted crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait, as the defence ministry of the island further added that combat patrols were carried out by four Chinese warships.

For the second time in a week, renewed Chinese military activity has been reported by Taiwan after 37 Chinese military aircraft flew into the air defence zone of the island on Thursday, some of which then flew into the western Pacific.

China, which has continued to claim the democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, in the past three years has regularly flown its air force near the island, though it has not entered into the territorial air space of Taiwan.

Taiwan's defence ministry, in a short statement, said that around 2 pm (0600 GMT) on Sunday, 24 Chinese air force planes were detected by them, which included J-10, J-11, J-16 and Su-30 fighters, as well as H-6 bombers.

The ministry stated that 10 had crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait, which separates the two countries and was considered as an unofficial barrier earlier.

Four Chinese naval ships were also involved in "joint combat readiness patrols", stated the ministry.

Taiwan stated that it has its own fighters and deployed land-based missile systems and ships to keep watch.

Honduras opens its embassy in China after severing ties with Taiwan

The embassy of Honduras was officially opened in China on Sunday, months after it changed its diplomatic allegiance from Taipei to Beijing.

"The relations between Honduras and China will open new opportunities and capabilities to strengthen the cooperation between both countries," said Honduran Foreign Minister Enrique Reina while speaking to Chinese state media after attending a ceremony in which the plaque for the new embassy was unveiled.

Honduran President Xiomara Castro reached Shanghai on Friday to embark on his five-day visit to cement the relationship and is scheduled to hold talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing.

During her visit, Castro is expected to sign a host of agreements. Earlier this month, Reina said that China had already started importing melons, shrimp, bananas and other products from Honduras.

The ceremony was attended by Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang on Sunday, the official Xinhua news agency stated.

He shook hands with Reina in front of a row of Honduran and Chinese flags. Honduras severed its diplomatic ties with Taiwan in March in favour of Beijing.

(With inputs from agencies)