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Taiwan scrambles jets after Beijing sends 52 aircraft to island’s air defence zone in two days
- On Sunday, 39 planes flew into the island’s ADIZ followed by 13 warplanes entering southwest of zone on Monday, according to Taiwan’s defence ministry
- Sorties came after the US and Japan wrapped up a six-day joint maritime drill south of Okinawa
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The People’s Liberation Army has sent 52 warplanes into Taiwan’s air defence zone in the past two days, prompting the island’s air force to scramble jets and aim missiles to disperse them.
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According to Taiwan’s defence ministry, 13 warplanes – 10 J-16 fighter jets, two H-6 bombers and a Y-8 anti-submarine aircraft – entered the southwest of the island’s air defence identification zone (ADIZ) on Monday.
The sorties followed 39 PLA warplanes – 34 fighter jets, four electronic warfare planes and a bomber – that flew into the island’s ADIZ on Sunday.
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Taiwan holds urban, aerial combat drills amid threats of invasion by mainland China
Taiwan holds urban, aerial combat drills amid threats of invasion by mainland China
“In response, our air force scrambled jets, issued radio warnings and deployed air defence missile systems to monitor the activities of the PLA’s warplanes,” the ministry said in a statement on Monday.
Sunday’s sorties were the largest since October 4 when the PLA sent a record 56 warplanes to test Taiwan’s combat readiness.
A chart provided by the ministry on Monday showed that the Y-8 went through the Bashi Channel via the island’s southeast ADIZ and headed towards the West Pacific in what observers said could be a mission to gather intelligence after the United States and Japan staged a joint drill two days ago.
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The other PLA planes, including the sorties on Sunday and Monday, flew in an area northeast of the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Island.
The fly-bys came soon after the US-Japan drill, which started on January 17, wrapped up.
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