A total of 21 Chinese military aircraft entered Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) on Tuesday, the island’s Defense Ministry said in a statement.
A total of 21 Chinese military aircraft entered Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) on Tuesday. denounced the Ministry of Defense of the island in a statement.
The ministry announced the incursions in the early hours of Wednesday, shortly following the president of the US House of Representatives arrived on the island for a visit. Nancy Pelosia trip that Beijing described as “provocation”.
According to the Military Ministry, J-16 and J-11 fighters, KJ-500 radar planes and Y-8 and Y-9 reconnaissance planes participated in the raid, which took place in the southwestern part of the Taiwanese ADIZ.
The raids occurred on Tuesday, when Pelosi had not yet arrived in Taiwan but US and Taiwanese media took the visit for granted.
The island’s Air Force issued radio warnings and mobilized units to “respond” to the incursion into ADIZ, which is not defined or regulated by any international treaty and is not equivalent to their airspace, but rather covers a larger area that includes areas of mainland China.
The island’s Ministry of Defense began reporting Chinese aircraft breaking into its ADIZ in 2009.
In the last year, the number of Chinese incursions has increased, actions that have been condemned by both Taiwan and the United States.
These movements reached their peak frequency in early October last year, when Beijing celebrated the anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China.
Pelosi’s visit has deeply irritated the Chinese government, which has responded in recent hours with economic sanctions and the announcement of military maneuvers in the coming days in the waters surrounding Taiwan.
China claims sovereignty over the island and has considered Taiwan a rebellious province since the Kuomintang nationalists withdrew there in 1949 following losing the civil war once morest the communists.
Taiwan, with whom the US does not maintain official relations, is one of the main sources of conflict between China and the US, mainly because Washington is the main supplier of weapons to the island and would be its greatest military ally. in case of war conflict with the Asian giant.