TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Ministry of National Defense (MND) tracked 39 Chinese military aircraft and eight naval vessels around Taiwan between 6 a.m. on Thursday (Nov. 2) and 6 a.m. on Friday (Nov. 3).
Of the 39 People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft, 20 were tracked in Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ) with 13 aircraft crossing the median line, including four Chengdu J-10 combat jets, four Sukhoi Su-30 fighter jets, two BZK-005 reconnaissance drones, two Shenyang J-11 jet fighters, and one CH-4 reconnaissance drone, according to the MND.
Two Shenyang J-16 fighter jets, two Xian H-6 bombers, one Shaanxi Y-9 plane, and one KJ-500 airborne early warning and control aircraft entered the southwest corner of the ADIZ. Meanwhile, one Shaanxi Y-8 anti-submarine warfare plane flew along the southern portion of the identification zone.
In response, Taiwan sent aircraft and naval ships and deployed land-based missile systems to monitor PLA activity. So far this month, Beijing has sent 52 military aircraft and 16 naval ships around Taiwan.
China’s military activity around Taiwan on Thursday followed a transit through the Taiwan Strait by a U.S. destroyer and Canadian frigate on Wednesday (Nov. 1). According to the U.S. 7th Fleet, the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Rafael Peralta and Royal Canadian Navy Halifax-class frigate HMCS Ottawa made a routine strait transit “through waters where high-seas freedoms of navigation and overflight apply in accordance with international law.”
Flight paths of 20 out of 39 PLA aircraft. (MND image)
