TAIPEI: Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense said it had spotted 28 Chinese air force aircraft in its country air defense zone on Wednesday morning, part of what Taipei calls regular harassment by Beijing amid heightened tensions in the strait.
Democratically governed Taiwan, which China considers its own territory, has complained in recent years about the intensification of Chinese military activities near the island as Beijing seeks to assert its claims of sovereignty.
Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said Chinese warplanes, including J-10 fighters, had flown into the southwestern corner of the island’s Air Defense Identification Zone, or ADIZ, from about 6 a.m. (10 p.m. GMT Tuesday).
Some of the Chinese aircraft crossed the Bashi Channel to conduct exercises with the Chinese aircraft carrier Shandong in the Pacific Ocean, the ministry added.
China’s Ministry of Defense did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Taiwan’s armed forces were monitoring the situation, including sending its own air force aircraft and activating air defense systems, the ministry added, using the normal wording for its response to such Chinese incursions.
A Shandong-led Chinese naval formation has entered the western Pacific for training, Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense said on Monday.
Separately, more than twenty Chinese warships, including Type 055 destroyers, sailed through the Bashi Channel and Street of Miyako into the Pacific on Wednesday, a senior official familiar with security planning in the region told Reuters.
The Chinese naval maneuver, along with the aircraft carrier group training exercises, posed a “clear challenge” to the recent military activities of the United States and its allies in the region, the person said.
“They want to show that they have full control over the west of the first island chain,” the person said, referring to the area running from Japan through Taiwan, the Philippines and on to Borneo, which hugs China’s coastal seas.
An American and a Canadian warship sailed through the Taiwan Strait on Saturday, the US Navy said. This is the second joint mission since June and coincided with the leaders of both countries attending the G20 Summit in India.
The two countries’ navies also conducted a series of exercises in the South China Sea this week, according to the US Navy.
Beijing has stepped up its military operations around Taiwan in recent years in response to what it calls “collusion” between Taiwanese independence forces and the US.
Democratically governed Taiwan, which China considers its own territory, has complained in recent years about the intensification of Chinese military activities near the island as Beijing seeks to assert its claims of sovereignty.
Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said Chinese warplanes, including J-10 fighters, had flown into the southwestern corner of the island’s Air Defense Identification Zone, or ADIZ, from about 6 a.m. (10 p.m. GMT Tuesday).
Some of the Chinese aircraft crossed the Bashi Channel to conduct exercises with the Chinese aircraft carrier Shandong in the Pacific Ocean, the ministry added.
China’s Ministry of Defense did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Taiwan’s armed forces were monitoring the situation, including sending its own air force aircraft and activating air defense systems, the ministry added, using the normal wording for its response to such Chinese incursions.
A Shandong-led Chinese naval formation has entered the western Pacific for training, Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense said on Monday.
Separately, more than twenty Chinese warships, including Type 055 destroyers, sailed through the Bashi Channel and Street of Miyako into the Pacific on Wednesday, a senior official familiar with security planning in the region told Reuters.
The Chinese naval maneuver, along with the aircraft carrier group training exercises, posed a “clear challenge” to the recent military activities of the United States and its allies in the region, the person said.
“They want to show that they have full control over the west of the first island chain,” the person said, referring to the area running from Japan through Taiwan, the Philippines and on to Borneo, which hugs China’s coastal seas.
An American and a Canadian warship sailed through the Taiwan Strait on Saturday, the US Navy said. This is the second joint mission since June and coincided with the leaders of both countries attending the G20 Summit in India.
The two countries’ navies also conducted a series of exercises in the South China Sea this week, according to the US Navy.
Beijing has stepped up its military operations around Taiwan in recent years in response to what it calls “collusion” between Taiwanese independence forces and the US.
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