Alexa
  • Directory of Taiwan

Taiwan records 13 incursions by Chinese air force in single day

Saturday's incursions record daily number of incidents for 2021 so far

  11553
Chinese Y-8 (Ministry of Defense photo) 

Chinese Y-8 (Ministry of Defense photo) 

UPDATE: Saturday, Jan. 23, 19:00:

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan recorded no fewer than 13 incursions by Chinese military planes into its air defense identification zone (ADIZ) on a single day Saturday (Jan. 23), the most of any such incidents within one day so far this year.

According to CNA, one Y-8 anti-submarine aircraft, four J-16 fighter jets, and eight H-6K bombers ventured into Taiwan's ADIZ during the day.

Earlier, the Liberty Times reported that Taiwan’s Air Force scrambled a total of 26 jets between 10:00 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. to counter seven incursions, which all occurred in the southwest corner of the ADIZ, the Liberty Times reported.

The People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) aircraft were flying at altitudes ranging from 2,500 to 7,800 meters, but no details about the types of planes involved have been revealed yet. Previous incidents mostly featured Y-8 anti-submarine and reconnaissance aircraft.

The first Chinese plane made an appearance at 10:12 a.m., followed by others four minutes later and then at 10:37, 10:46, 11:00, 11:44, and 11:47 a.m., according to the report.

It is unclear why China decided to step up the number of incursions in such a short time. Previous occasions typically saw between one and three planes intruding into the ADIZ.