Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense (MND) has confirmed that three Chinese military aircraft entered its south-western air defence identification zone (ADIZ).
The People’s Liberation Army Air Force’s (PLAAF) aircraft have been detected in the zone for the 15th time this month.
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According to the MND, one Y-8 anti-submarine warfare plane, a Y-8 reconnaissance aircraft (RECCE), and a Y-8 electronic warfare (EW) plane flew into the ADIZ on 18 January.
The ministry also released images and flight paths of the Chinese aircraft.
In response to the intrusion, the Taiwanese military scrambled fighter jets to conduct airborne alert sorties and broadcasted radio warnings.
In addition, it deployed air defence missile systems to monitor the actions of the Chinese aircraft.
The MND has been actively reporting the details of Chinese flights around Taiwan in recent months.
It reported that the PLAAF planes were detected 19 times in ADIZ last month, 22 times in November, and 22 times in October.
Furthermore, the data provided by the Taiwanese defence ministry on the Chinese incursions revealed that one to three Chinese planes were often spotted in the zone.
Last October, China reportedly announced plans to enforce sanctions on US companies over the sale of weapons to Taiwan.
In August, Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen unveiled a centre dedicated to the maintenance of its F-16 fighter jets.
