PLA warplanes set new 24-hour record, destabilising security: Taiwan defence ministry
- Taiwanese defence ministry said it tracked 103 aircraft from the mainland between Sunday and Monday, with 40 sorties near the island
- The increasing activity will only escalate cross-strait tensions and destabilise the region, the ministry said
The ministry said it had tracked 103 PLA aircraft in the 24 hours from 6am Sunday, with 40 of them crossing the de facto median line in the Taiwan Strait or entering the island’s air defence identification zone (ADIZ) in the southwest and southeast.
There were 10 Su-30, 12 J-10, four J-11 and 10 J-16 fighter jets, as well as two Y-20 aerial refuelling planes and two KJ-500 airborne early warning aircraft among the 40 sorties, the ministry said, adding that nine PLA warships were also spotted near the island.
According to a chart released by the ministry showing the warplanes’ flight paths, 32 PLA fighter jets entered Taiwan’s southwest ADIZ.
At the same time, two Y-20 refuellers and two KJ-500 airborne early warning planes heading towards the Bashi Channel flew into the southeast ADIZ before continuing to the western Pacific, the ministry said.
The chart also showed four J-11s crossing the median line that notionally runs through the middle of the Taiwan Strait on the Taiwanese side and flying along the line before heading back to the mainland side.
