Taiwan president praises 'heroic' pilots who intercepted Chinese jets

FILE PHOTO: Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen attends an inauguration ceremony of a maintenance centre for F-16 fighter jets, in Taichung, Taiwan August 28, 2020. REUTERS/Ann Wang

PENGHU, Taiwan (Reuters) - Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen praised on Tuesday the "heroic performance" of air force pilots who have been intercepting Chinese jets that have approached the island, as its armed forces held drills to simulate repulsing an attack.

Tension between China and the democratic island Beijing claims as sovereign Chinese territory have spiked to their highest in years, with Taiwanese fighters jets scrambling to intercept the Chinese aircraft last week.