Taiwan says Chinese warplane crashed in disputed South China Sea

Intelligence chiefs tell legislature that a Y-8 anti-submarine vessel came down in the disputed waters earlier this month

Beijing has not confirmed the reports but the briefing says the PLA launched search and rescue operations under the guise of training drills

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Published: 7:44pm, 10 Mar 2022

Taiwan’s intelligence authorities have said that a People’s Liberation Army warplane crashed in the disputed South China Sea earlier this month.

Soon after the accident, the PLA announced military drills near the suspected crash site, the island’s National Security Bureau told the legislature on Thursday, confirming earlier reports by a Vietnamese journalist.

The intelligence bureau chief delivered a report that said the crashed plane was a Shaanxi Y-8 anti-submarine warfare aircraft. He added that soon after the crash, the PLA announced navigation restrictions in the adjacent waters to carry out search and rescue operations in the name of “military training”.

It said the operations were conducted in the waters close to the disputed “nine-dash line”, which marks the maximum extent of China’s historical claims over the South China Sea.

Its claim over the waters and the islands within it – including the Paracels, Spratleys, Zhongsha and the Pratas – are disputed by several countries, including the Philippines and Vietnam.

Taiwan says Chinese warplane crashed in disputed South China Sea

Intelligence chiefs tell legislature that a Y-8 anti-submarine vessel came down in the disputed waters earlier this month Beijing has not confirmed the reports but the briefing says the PLA launched search and rescue operations under the guise of training drills

Intelligence chiefs tell legislature that a Y-8 anti-submarine vessel came down in the disputed waters earlier this month

Beijing has not confirmed the reports but the briefing says the PLA launched search and rescue operations under the guise of training drills