The Ministry of National Defense (MND) tracked 24 Chinese military aircraft and 4 naval ships around Taiwan from 6:00 a.m. Saturday (December 31) to 6:00 p.m. Sunday (January 1st).
Taiwan has used aircraft, naval ships and land-based missile systems to monitor the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).PLA) planes and ships, Taiwan News reported.
Of the 24 PLA aircraft, 15 were tracked in the ADIZ, of which 12 crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait, according to the MND.
Four Shenyang J-11 fighters, four Chengdu J-10 fighters and four Shenyang J-16 fighters crossed the median.
Meanwhile, a Shaanxi Y-8 anti-submarine warfare aircraft, a BZK-005 Harbin reconnaissance drone and a BZK-007 reconnaissance drone were tracked in the western corner. South Taiwan’s ADIZ, Taiwan News reported.
Since September 2020, China has increased its use of gray zone tactics by regularly placing aircraft in Taiwan’s air defense identification zone. Gray zone tactics are defined as “an attempt or series of efforts beyond deterrence and steady state assurance to achieve one’s security goals without the direct use of force.” continued and on a large scale.”
Meanwhile, amid rising tensions between China and the US over Beijing’s growing aggression in the South China Sea, China Navy simulated an attack on a US Navy task group on December 21, the same day that a Chinese J-11 fighter jet intercepted a US Air Force The Drive reported that the RC-135 spy plane, which the Pentagon called “acted unsafely”.
On December 21, according to the South China Sea Exploration Initiative, the US military sent 3 P-8A maritime patrol aircraft, 1 RC-135V surveillance aircraft and 1 airborne early warning and control aircraft. E-3G from Clark Air Base and Kadena Air Base to operate over the South China Sea and south of the Taiwan Strait. The RC-135V in question is most likely the one intercepted by the J-11.
China’s intense military activity in the South China Sea is hardly unusual, although it is interesting to note that, in this case, the exercise scenario clearly targeted US Navy ships. Period specifically.
China’s leadership has taken an increasingly aggressive stance toward Taiwan in recent years, while officials in the United States are now expressing concerns more openly that Beijing may soon seek to control the island. control this island.
