TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Two Chinese military aircraft entered Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ) on Wednesday (Jan. 12), marking the 10th intrusion this month.
A People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) Shaanxi Y-8 anti-submarine warfare plane and one Shaanxi Y-8 reconnaissance airplane entered the southwest corner of the ADIZ, according to the Ministry of National Defense (MND). In response, Taiwan sent aircraft, issued radio warnings, and deployed air defense missile systems to track the planes.
A total of 37 Chinese planes have been observed in Taiwan’s identification zone so far this month, including 23 fighter jets and 14 spotter planes.
Since September 2020, China has increased its use of gray zone tactics by routinely sending aircraft into Taiwan’s ADIZ, with most occurrences taking place in the southwest corner of the zone. In 2021, Chinese military planes entered the ADIZ on 961 instances over 239 days, the Liberty Times cited the MND as saying.
An ADIZ is an area that extends beyond a country’s airspace where air traffic controllers ask incoming aircraft to identify themselves. Gray zone tactics are defined “as an effort or series of efforts beyond steady-state deterrence and assurance that attempts to achieve one’s security objectives without resort to direct and sizable use of force.”
Chinese Y-8 RECCE plane. (MND photo)
Flight paths of Chinese planes on Jan. 12. (MND image)
