Taiwan on Friday reported that 18 Chinese military aircraft entered its air defense identification zone (ADIZ).
According to the Ministry of National Defense, the planes included six J-11 fighter jets, six J-16 fighter jets, two Xi'an H-6 bombers, two KJ-500 airborne early warning and control aircraft, one Shaanxi Y-8 anti-submarine warfare plane, and one Shaanxi Y-8 electronic warfare aircraft, reported Taiwan News.
The Y-8 ASW and the two H-6 bombers flew along the southwest and the southeast corners of Taiwan's ADIZ, while the other aircraft entered from the southwest, where most of the incursions have occurred since the military started publishing them in September 2020.
As usual, Taiwan's Air Force sent aircraft, issued radio warnings and deployed air defense missile systems to track the Chinese planes, reported Taiwan News.
The highest number of intrusions on a single day in 2022 so far occurred on January 23, when the military spotted 39 People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) aircraft.
Beijing claims full sovereignty over Taiwan, a democracy of almost 24 million people located off the southeastern coast of mainland China, despite the fact that the two sides have been governed separately for more than seven decades.
Taipei, on the other hand, has countered the Chinese aggression by increasing strategic ties with democracies including the US, which has been repeatedly opposed by Beijing. China has threatened that "Taiwan's independence" means war.
( With inputs from ANI )
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