TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Four Chinese military planes entered Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ) on Sunday (Jan. 30), marking the 23rd intrusion this month.
Two People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) Shenyang J-11 fighter jets and two Shaanxi Y-8 anti-submarine warfare planes flew into 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 assets to monitor the PLAAF planes.
An ADIZ is an area that extends beyond a country’s airspace where air traffic controllers ask incoming aircraft to identify themselves.
China has sent planes into Taiwan’s identification zone every day this month except for on Jan. 3, 9, 16, 21, 22, 26, and 29. A total of 137 Chinese planes have been tracked there so far in January, including 98 fighters, three bombers, and 36 spotter planes, MND figures show.
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. In 2021, China military planes entered the ADIZ on 961 instances over 239 days, according to the MND.
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 ASW plane. (MND photo)
Flight paths of Chinese planes on Jan. 30. (MND image)
