Ten Chinese military planes flew into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone yesterday as Taiwan concluded its annual Han Kuang military exercises, the Ministry of National Defense said.
Six J-16 and two J-11 fighters entered airspace between Taiwan and China’s Dongshan Island (東山島), while one Y-8 reconnaissance plane and one Y-8 anti-submarine plane flew to the southeast of Taiwan before turning back, the ministry said in a report.
The air force responded by scrambling planes to monitor the Chinese aircraft, issuing radio warnings and mobilizing air defense assets — the standard practice in responding to intrusions.
Photo provided by the Military News Agency via CNA
Yesterday was the 15th consecutive day of intrusions into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone by Chinese planes, ministry data showed.
The highest number of Chinese aircraft to have entered the zone in a day was 28, which was reported on June 15, while up to 19 planes were recorded on Sept. 5.
The ministry on Sept. 17 last year set up a dedicated section on its Web site for reports of intrusions by Chinese military planes.
The Han Kuang exercises began on Monday by mobilizing fighter jets stationed in the west of Taiwan to fly to the east.
On the last day of the exercises yesterday, the air force tested the counterstrike capabilities of the Indigenous Defense Fighter, while the navy’s Tian Dan, a Cheng Kung-class frigate, was deployed to conduct surveillance and reconnaissance missions alongside other naval vessels.
At the end of the exercises, Minister of National Defense Chiu Kuo-cheng (邱國正) passed on President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) encouragement to the armed forces for their hard work this week.
Chiu said the drills were held to test the military’s capability and to demonstrate its commitment to the defense of Taiwan.
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