TAIPEI - Taiwan's defence ministry said on Saturday (April 11) that it spotted 16 Chinese warplanes operating near the island the previous day, around the same time China's president was meeting the Taiwanese opposition leader.

Late on Friday morning, Chinese President Xi Jinping met Cheng Li-wun, chairwoman of Taiwan's largest opposition party the Kuomintang (KMT) in Beijing, where Xi said he "absolutely would not tolerate" independence for Taiwan, which China views as its own territory.