Chinese warplanes flew towards Taiwan for the seventh time in eight days on Thursday, as tensions remained high across the Taiwan Strait following a high-level U.S. State Department visit earlier this month.

Taiwanese media reported that at least two aircraft entered the self-ruled island’s air defense identification zone, triggering an alert on the Taiwanese side before dispatching its fighter jets to broadcast warnings.

In response to Beijing’s increased military aggression, Taiwanese authorities said multiple missile tests will be conducted for two days starting Thursday, off Taiwan’s east coast. The tests are believed to involve the Hsiung Feng II and Hsiung Feng III anti-ship missile systems, according to Apple Daily Taiwan.

The National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology, Taiwan’s major weapon developer, said the reach of the missile tests will stretch 300 kilometers off Hualien and Taitung counties in the Pacific Ocean, and there will be “no ceiling” as to the height of the missiles' trajectory. The newspaper quoted netizens who said they witnessed a fleet of military vehicles and radar trucks appeared on a highway in Taitung County early Thursday.

Taiwan has described recent Chinese military activity as military provocation but Chinese officials said they were normal exercises within its own territory. Beijing says the island is part of its region and has threatened the use of force to claim it.

With tensions between China and Taiwan escalating, a flyby rehearsal in preparation for the island’s upcoming Double Tenth celebrations caused some residents to panic in the capital of Taipei on Thursday, as helicopters and fighter jets flew across the skyline. The authorities quickly dismissed rumors circulating online that China had kick started its invasion of Taiwan. It said the warplanes were practicing a performance to be held on Oct. 10 when Taiwan celebrates its own “National Day.”

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