Chinese Air Force
On Saturday, the Taiwanese defence ministry said eight Chinese warplanes crossed the Taiwan Strait’s median line and neared the island’s contiguous zone, which lies 24 nautical miles (44 km) off the shore.
Over the last three years, China’s air force has repeatedly flown into Taiwan’s airspace. It has been sending jets across the strait’s median line, which had previously operated as an unofficial barrier, on a regular basis since August.
Beijing claims Taiwan, which is democratically governed, as Chinese territory. Taiwan’s government denies the accusations, claiming that only the people of the island can decide their fate.
Taiwan Defence Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng warned in March that the island needed to be on alert this year in case of a sudden entry by the Chinese military into areas near its sovereignty.
Taiwan defines its contiguous zone as being 24 nautical miles from its shore. Its territorial space is defined at 12 nautical miles from its shore, however, the government has not documented Chinese aircraft entering either the contiguous zone or Taiwan’s territorial air space.
Taiwan’s defence ministry said in a statement that it spotted 19 Chinese jets, including J-10 and J-16 fighters, starting at about 8 am on Saturday.
According to the report, eight of those crossed the median line and came close to the 24-nautical mile threshold.
At the same time, the ministry reported that five Chinese warships conducted joint combat readiness patrols.
Taiwan responded by sending up its own planes, dispatching ships, and activating land-based missile systems, according to the ministry, adopting the customary language for how its forces respond to Chinese invasions.
The Chinese defence ministry did not respond to requests for comment.
The Chinese military’s Eastern Theatre Command, which oversees Taiwan, uploaded photos on its WeChat account on Saturday of J-16 fighters taking off on a training mission far out at sea that occurred recently.
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