Record 38 Chinese jets enter Taiwan airspace
A record 38 Chinese military jets crossed into Taiwan's defence zone as Beijing marked the founding of the People's Republic of China, Taipei said on Saturday.
The show of force on China's National Day on Friday near the self-ruled democratic island, which Beijing claims as part of its territory, came in the same week it accused Britain of sending a warship into the Taiwan Strait with "evil intentions".
Taiwan's defence ministry said it scrambled its aircraft to broadcast warnings after 22 fighters, two bombers and one anti-submarine aircraft entered the island's southwest Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ) on Friday.
A second batch of 13 jets crossed into Taiwan's ADIZ later on Friday, in a rare night incursion, bringing the total to a record 38, according to the ministry.
The ADIZ is not the same as Taiwan's territorial airspace but includes a far greater area that overlaps with part of China's own air defence identification zone and even includes some of mainland China.
Beijing often sends military aircraft into Taiwan's air defence zone in a show of strength and last week flew 24 planes into the area after Taiwan applied to join a major trans-Pacific trade pact.
China's authoritarian leaders have vowed to one day seize Taiwan.
Beijing has ramped up pressure on Taipei since the 2016 election of President Tsai Ing-wen, who views the island as "already independent".
Last year, Chinese military jets made a record 380 incursions into Taiwan's defence zone, and the number of breaches for the first nine months of this year has already exceeded 500.
The previous single-day record was on June 15 when 28 jets breached Taiwan's ADIZ.
Friday's incursion came after Britain sent a warship through the Taiwan Strait on Monday for the first time since 2008, a move that challenges Beijing's claim to the sensitive waterway and marked a rare passage by a non-US military vessel.
The Chinese People's Liberation Army's Eastern Theatre Command accused Britain of acting out of "evil intentions to sabotage peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait".
US warships regularly conduct "freedom of navigation" exercises in the strait separating Taiwan and mainland China, triggering angry responses from Beijing.
Taiwan's defence ministry said it scrambled its aircraft to broadcast warnings after 22 fighters, two bombers and one anti-submarine aircraft entered the island's southwest Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ) on Friday.
A second batch of 13 jets crossed into Taiwan's ADIZ later on Friday, in a rare night incursion, bringing the total to a record 38, according to the ministry.
The ADIZ is not the same as Taiwan's territorial airspace but includes a far greater area that overlaps with part of China's own air defence identification zone and even includes some of mainland China.
Beijing often sends military aircraft into Taiwan's air defence zone in a show of strength and last week flew 24 planes into the area after Taiwan applied to join a major trans-Pacific trade pact.
China's authoritarian leaders have vowed to one day seize Taiwan.
Beijing has ramped up pressure on Taipei since the 2016 election of President Tsai Ing-wen, who views the island as "already independent".
Last year, Chinese military jets made a record 380 incursions into Taiwan's defence zone, and the number of breaches for the first nine months of this year has already exceeded 500.
The previous single-day record was on June 15 when 28 jets breached Taiwan's ADIZ.
Friday's incursion came after Britain sent a warship through the Taiwan Strait on Monday for the first time since 2008, a move that challenges Beijing's claim to the sensitive waterway and marked a rare passage by a non-US military vessel.
The Chinese People's Liberation Army's Eastern Theatre Command accused Britain of acting out of "evil intentions to sabotage peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait".
US warships regularly conduct "freedom of navigation" exercises in the strait separating Taiwan and mainland China, triggering angry responses from Beijing.
AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
