TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — China carried out a series of dangerous air maneuvers near Taiwan in December, raising concerns about rising tensions in the region, Financial Times reported Tuesday.
People familiar with the incidents said Chinese J-16 fighter jets flew aggressively close to Taiwanese F-16s during the PLA’s Justice Mission 2025 drills around the country. One encounter involved a J-16 firing decoy flares toward a Taiwanese jet as it scrambled near the Taiwan Strait median line.
In a second incident, a Chinese fighter flew directly behind a Taiwanese F-16 in what one source described as “basically a firing position.” A third episode involved a J-16 flying beneath a Chinese H-6K bomber in an apparent attempt to evade Taiwanese radar before revealing itself at close range.
The maneuvers did not reach the level of danger seen earlier in December when Chinese aircraft locked weapons radar onto Japanese planes, according to people briefed on the matter. However, some compared the flare incident to a separate episode in which a Chinese aircraft fired flares near Philippine patrol planes over the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea.
US officials have warned that China’s military drills around Taiwan increasingly resemble preparation for real conflict. Admiral Samuel Paparo, head of US Indo-Pacific Command, has described recent PLA exercises as “rehearsals” for a possible attack on Taiwan.
The Pentagon said in its latest annual report that the PLA has carried out multiple unsafe and operationally dangerous actions near allied aircraft, including reckless maneuvers and the release of flares or chaff. Analysts said such actions heighten the risk of miscalculation or accidents.
Some people familiar with the December incidents suggested the behavior may reflect internal strain within the PLA following leadership purges ordered by Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Others said Beijing may be pushing pilots to take greater risks as Xi presses the military to demonstrate readiness to seize Taiwan.
China’s embassy in Washington did not comment on the encounters but said the Eastern Theater Command’s exercise was successful. It described the drills as a necessary response to what it called “separatist forces” seeking Taiwan’s independence.
