Alarm in Taiwan as online map appears to show PLA ‘Trojan horse’ flight

Defence ministry declines to comment on local media reports that a military plane ‘hid’ beneath Cathay Pacific jet near median line

Screenshots of the unusual flight pattern have prompted warnings from experts, who also said it would be difficult to avoid detection

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According to online reports, a PLA Y-9 aircraft briefly followed a Shanghai-bound commercial jet before diving directly below it. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 2:00pm, 30 Sep 2023

Images that appear to suggest a People’s Liberation Army warplane flew beneath a commercial airliner near Taiwan have triggered concerns that mainland forces are practising for an assault on the island, under the cover of civilian planes.

The Taiwanese defence ministry declined to comment on online media reports that a Y-9 electronic warfare plane was spotted flying beneath Cathay Pacific flight CX366 from Hong Kong to Shanghai on September 24.

Images of the unusual flight pattern – purportedly screenshots from real-time aircraft tracking map websites FlightAware in the US and the Swedish-based Flightradar 24 – began circulating online on the same day the ministry announced increased PLA activity on the mainland facing Taiwan.

When asked to comment on the reports, the ministry referred the South China Morning Post to its Sunday statement, which said the island’s forces were “closely monitoring the situation with our intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems”.

The ministry’s statement was referring to PLA activities over the previous week involving aircraft and ground troops at Dacheng Bay in Fujian province.

The exercises appeared to be a series of amphibious drills involving fighters, drones, bombers and other aircraft, as well as warships and were in addition to the PLA’s regular fly-bys or crossovers of the median line to areas close to the island, the ministry said.

Alarm in Taiwan as online map appears to show PLA ‘Trojan horse’ flight

Defence ministry declines to comment on local media reports that a military plane ‘hid’ beneath Cathay Pacific jet near median line Screenshots of the unusual flight pattern have prompted warnings from experts, who also said it would be difficult to avoid detection

Defence ministry declines to comment on local media reports that a military plane ‘hid’ beneath Cathay Pacific jet near median line

Screenshots of the unusual flight pattern have prompted warnings from experts, who also said it would be difficult to avoid detection