Taiwan on Sunday reported the biggest incursion by China’s air force into its air defense sector since October, with the island’s defense ministry saying Taiwan’s fighters scrambled to warn 39 aircraft in the latest escalation in tensions .
Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory, has placed it near an island democratically governed by China’s air force, often in the southwestern part of its air defense identification zone, or near ADIZ, close to Taiwan. The Air Force has complained of repeated missions for over a year. Controlled Pratas Islands.
Taiwan calls China’s repeated military activities “grey zone” warfare, designed to repeatedly scuffle Taiwan’s forces and test Taiwan’s responses.
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Taiwan’s ministry said the latest Chinese mission involved 34 fighter jets and four electronic warfare aircraft and one bomber.
According to the map provided by the ministry, the aircraft took off over an area northeast of Pratas.
The ministry said Taiwan sent fighter jets to warn the Chinese planes while missile systems were deployed to monitor them.
There was no immediate comment from China, which has said in the past that such moves were exercises aimed at protecting the country’s sovereignty.
While it was unclear what prompted China to carry out the mission on such a large scale, US and Japanese naval forces are conducting exercises in the Philippine Sea, a vast area that includes waters east of Taiwan.
The US Pacific Fleet said on Sunday those exercises included two carrier strike groups that were “conducting training to preserve and protect a free and open Indo-Pacific”.
China has increased pressure on Taiwan to accept its sovereignty claims. Taiwan’s government says it wants peace but will defend itself if attacked.
Taiwan reported 148 Chinese Air Force aircraft in the southern and southwestern part of its air defense zone over a period of four days beginning on October 1, the same day China celebrated a major patriotic holiday, National Day.
Taiwan has reported almost daily Chinese air force entry into the same airspace since then, but the number of planes on Sunday was the largest in a single day since the October incursion.
No shots have been fired and Chinese aircraft are not flying over Taiwan’s airspace, but in its ADIZ, an extensive area Taiwan monitors and patrols to give it more time to respond to any threats. works.
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