TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The incursion of a Chinese Y-8 ELINT spotter plane into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ) amounted to provocation as it occurred during live-fire drills in the area, reports said Thursday (March 17).

The National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST) and Taiwan’s Navy had scheduled the maneuvers in the air space and at sea in an area just southeast of the country’s main island, the Liberty Times reported.

As the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) plane entered the southeast sector of Taiwan’s ADIZ, its route was not just about collecting electronic intelligence on the drills but also a sign of provocation, a military source told the Liberty Times.

During previous exercises by Taiwan’s Navy, Chinese ships would stay at a safe distance away from the scene, but the appearance of the Shaanxi Y-8 electronic intelligence aircraft so close was unprecedented, according to the source.

The NCSIST had announced it would fire missiles from the Jiupeng Air Force Base in Pingtung County between March 15 and March 18. As the arms maker is developing several new types of missiles, the Y-8 had most likely been sent into the area to collect intelligence about Taiwan’s progress in producing its own weapons, the report said.