Taiwan would not yield its sovereignty or an inch of its land, President Tsai Ing-wen said on Friday following a spate of mainland Chinese military intrusions into the self-ruled island’s airspace earlier in the week.

Taiwan would do everything it could to defend its democratic system and reject any compromises to its sovereignty, Tsai said at a national security seminar organized by the government on Friday. On her Facebook page, she also warned intruding aircrafts “not to underestimate the determination of Taiwan’s armed forces in defending their home.”

Tsai had inspected two air defense bases in the morning with National Security Council Secretary-General Wellington Koo, Minister of National Defense Yen Teh-fa, Chief of the General Staff Huang Shu-ku and Lieutenant General Hsiung Hou-chi, who heads Taiwan’s air force.

The two bases were small military units but carried out the vital work of keeping an eye on mainland Chinese aircraft activity on a 24-hour basis, Tsai said.

Taiwan’s defense ministry on Thursday held a high-profile press conference to reveal that 30 fighter jets and seven warships from the People’s Liberation Army had appeared near the southwestern coast of Taiwan over a two-day period. The ministry said 21 PLA fighter jets intruded into Taiwan’s airspace and came as close as 166 kilometers to its shores.

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