Taiwan detects 24 Chinese jets, seven ships approaching island

Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defence (MND) tracked 24 Chinese military aircraft and seven naval vessels around Taiwan between 6 a.m. on August 6 and 6 a.m. on August 7.

Of the 24 People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft, four Chengdu J-10 combat jets, two Shenyang J-16 fighter jets, and two Sukhoi Su-30 jet fighters crossed the Taiwan Strait median line in Taiwan’s air defence identification zone (ADIZ), Taiwan News quotes the Ministry as saying on its website.

Two Chengdu J-10 fighter planes, one Shaanxi Y-9 plane, and one KJ-500 airborne early warning and control plane also entered the southwest corner of Taiwan’s ADIZ, the ministry wrote.

In response, Taiwan sent aircraft, naval ships, and used land-based missile systems to monitor PLA activity.

Since early August, Beijing has sent 72 military aircraft and 52 naval ship sorties around Taiwan. Since September 2020, China has increased its use of grey zone tactics by incrementally increasing the number of military aircraft and naval ships operating around Taiwan.