[ad_1]
Taiwanese Prime Minister Su Tseng-chang said on Saturday that Chinese military aircraft maneuvers in its airspace were an act of “intimidation”.
The Taiwanese Defense Ministry said on Friday that China had flown 25 military planes in the Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ), which amounted to a large show of force on the Chinese National Day, which celebrates the founding of the People’s Republic of China.
A second group of planes flew into the ADIZ later Friday evening, bringing the total number of warplanes entering Taiwanese airspace to an unprecedented 38.
“China has been belligerent and undermined regional peace while engaging in numerous acts of intimidation,” Su told reporters.
“It is obvious that the world, the international community, increasingly rejects such behavior from China.”
What happened during the Chinese incursion?
Taiwanese defense officials said the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) flew 18 J-16 fighter jets, two H-6 bombers – which are capable of carrying nuclear warheads – and other planes in ADIZ, which extends beyond Taiwan’s territorial airspace and is monitored for national security purposes.
Taiwan responded on Friday by deploying planes and tracking Chinese warplanes using air defense systems, the ministry said in a statement.
The map released by the ministry showed the planes flying near the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Islands, with both bombers flying close to the adjacent atoll.
Persistent tensions between China and Taiwan
Beijing sees Taiwan as a renegade province that will one day be reunited with mainland China. Under President Xi Jinping, China has continued to increase the pressure on Taiwan, which is autonomous and considers itself an independent country.
China has sent fighter jets to Taiwan on a regular basis in recent years, as Taipei’s growing assertion of independence sparks tensions with Beijing.
Last week, in response to Taiwan’s efforts to join a regional trade group, the PLA flew 24 fighter jets to Taiwan.
In 2020, China made a record 380 forays into ADIZ, and so far this year China has done so more than 500 times.
China has increased the pressure since Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, who said she considered Taiwan “already independent”, was elected in 2016.
Earlier this week, the UK sent a warship to the Taiwan Strait for the first time since 2008. Beijing said the UK was showing “bad intentions to sabotage peace and stability.”
ab, ar / wmr (AP, Reuters)
[ad_2]
Source link