Taiwan denounces incursion of 9 Chinese planes in defense zone

A few hours after Russia launched the invasion of Ukraine, Taiwan denounced the incursion of Chinese planes into its airspace, setting off some alarm bells.

Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said a total of  nine Chinese planes entered its air defense identification zone (ADIZ), according to information reported by The Hill. Eight Chinese J-16 fighters and one Y-8 reconnaissance aircraft took part in the mission.

According to the Ministry, the aircraft flew over an area northeast of the Pratas Islands, controlled by Taiwan.

In response, the ministry said, Taiwan sent fighter jets to warn Chinese planes, while also deploying air defense missiles to “monitor Chinese activities.”

Faced with fears that China could emulate Russia and try to gain control of Taiwan, an island that the Beijing government considers to be part of its territory, the spokeswoman for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Hua Chunying, assured that “Taiwan does not it is Ukraine. Taiwan has always been an inalienable part of China. This is an indisputable legal and historical fact.”

For his part, the spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Defense, Tan Kefei, warned, in statements quoted by various media, that Taiwan is a “fundamental issue” for China and that foreign interference will not be tolerated. “We urge the US side to recognize the high sensitivity of the Taiwan issue, stop interfering in China’s internal affairs, and stop playing with fire on the Taiwan issue.” 

China sent 39 military aircraft , mostly fighters, to Taiwan’s air defense zone on Sunday (01.23.2021) , in the largest incursion since October, the island’s government revealed.

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Last January, China carried out the largest air raid so far this year into Taiwan’s airspace, with 39 Chinese aircraft entering its defense zone, including 24 J-26 fighters, 10 J-10s and a nuclear-capable H-6 bomber.

In the last quarter of 2021, there was a strong rebound in Chinese incursions into the ADIZ, with 56 entries in a single day, on October 4. 

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Last year, Taiwan recorded 969 raids by Chinese planes on its ADIZ, according to a database compiled by AFP, more than double the nearly 380 made in 2020.