TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — For the second day in a row on Friday (Sept. 18), 18 Chinese People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) warplanes entered Taiwan's Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) — and were warned 24 times to leave the area before being driven away by Taiwanese fighter jets.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) wrote on his Facebook page Friday that PLAAF warplanes intruded into the southwestern, western, northern, and northwestern sectors of Taiwan's ADIZ. He added, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is becoming "an international troublemaker again."
Liberty Times reported the Chinese aircraft were detected inside the ADIZ at the altitudes of 5,700, 6,300, 7,000, 7,500, and 8,400 meters. Taiwan's Air Force broadcast 24 warnings to the PLAAF planes, including cautioning several times that they were "close to my airspace." This is a rarely used warning indicating they were close to penetrating Taiwan's sovereign airspace.
Liberty Times wrote the Taiwan Air Force dispatched 17 batches of fighter jets, which eventually drove the Chinese aircraft away. Wang pointed out the aggressive incursions took place during the first full day of a visit by the U.S. Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment Keith Krach and his delegation to Taiwan.
Prior to the trip, China warned of "serious damage" to Sino-American relations if it was not canceled. After the U.S. ignored the communist country's warnings and went ahead with the trip, China lodged a complaint with Washington and said it would make a “necessary response.”
Update: 09/18 3:50 p.m.
According to the Ministry of National Defense (MND), two H-6 bombers, eight J-16 fighters, four J-10 fighters, and four J-11 fighters of the PLAAF crossed Taiwan's Median Line and intruded into the country's ADIZ. Based on a map posted on its real-time update page and its Twitter account, the H-6 bombers and J-16 fighters penetrated Taiwan's southwest ADIZ on separate sorties.
Also on separate missions, the four J-11 fighters and four J-10 fighters crossed over the Median Line off the northwest coast of Taiwan. Meanwhile, the squadron of eight J-16 fighters breached the Median Line further to the north.
The MND confirmed that it had issued radio warnings and scrambled fighter jets to intercept the Chinese warplanes. It added that it deployed its air defense missile system to monitor their movements.
MND map of Friday's incursions.
Sep. 18, two H-6 bombers, eight J-16 fighters, four J-10 fighters and four J-11 fighters crossed the midline of the #TaiwanStrait and entered #Taiwan’s southwest ADIZ. #ROCAF scrambled fighters, and deployed air defense missile system to monitor the activities. pic.twitter.com/sGaxXlO0BT
— 國防部 Ministry of National Defense, R.O.C. (@MoNDefense) September 18, 2020
