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A record 38 Chinese military planes entered the Taiwan defense zone as Beijing marked the founding of the People’s Republic of China, officials in Taipei said.
The show of force on China’s National Day on Friday near the Autonomous Democratic Island, which Beijing claims to be part of its territory, came the same week it accused Britain of having sent a warship into the Taiwan Strait with “bad intentions”.
Taiwan’s Defense Ministry announced on Friday that its fighters had rushed against 18 J-16s and four Su-30 fighter jets, as well as two nuclear-capable H-6 bombers and an anti-submarine aircraft.
Then, in the early hours of Saturday, the ministry said 13 more Chinese planes were involved in a Friday night mission – 10 D-16, 2 H-6 and an early warning plane.
He said Taiwan had sent fighter jets to ward off Chinese planes, while missile systems were deployed to monitor them.
The first batch of Chinese planes all flew in an area near the Pratas Islands, with both bombers flying as close as possible to the atoll, according to a map released by the ministry.
The second group flew into the Bashi Canal that separates Taiwan from the Philippines, a key waterway that connects the Pacific with the disputed South China Sea.
China has yet to comment on its latest show of force. He previously said such thefts were aimed at protecting the country’s sovereignty and aimed at “collusion” between Taiwan and the United States, the island’s largest international donor.
The previous largest incursion occurred in June, involving 28 Chinese Air Force planes.
China’s latest mission came less than a day after his government launched an attack on Taiwan’s foreign minister, citing revolutionary leader Mao Zedong’s words to denounce him as a “shrill” fly for his efforts to promote Taiwan internationally.
China has stepped up military and political pressure to try to force Taiwan to accept Chinese sovereignty.
Taiwan says it is an independent country and will defend its freedom and democracy.
Friday’s incursion came after Britain on Monday sent a warship into the Taiwan Strait for the first time since 2008, a move that challenges Beijing’s claim to the sensitive waterway and marked a rare passage of a non-US military vessel.
The Chinese military accused Britain of acting with “malicious intent to sabotage peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.”
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