'4 Chinese warplanes flew into Taiwan air defence zone'

Four Chinese warplanes flew into Taiwan air defence identification zone on Wednesday, marking the 17th intrusion this month.

Two People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) Shenyang J-16 fighter jets, one Shaanxi Y-8 electronic intelligence spotter plane, and one Shaanxi Y-8 electronic warfare plane entered the southwestern corner of the ADIZ, according to the Ministry of National Defense (MND), Taiwan News reported,

At a legislative session on Wednesday, Taiwan's Defence Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng (Qiu Guo Zheng ) briefed lawmakers on the military's moves amid increasing Chinese military aggression. Chiu said that since January, the PLAAF has already carried out over 940 incursions into the country's ADIZ.

Air defence identification zones are early warning systems that help countries detect incursions into their airspace.

Any aircraft entering such an area is supposed to report its route and purpose to the "host" nation, though the zones are classified as international airspace and pilots are not legally bound to make such a notification.

Since mid-September of last year, Beijing has stepped up its grey-zone tactics by regularly sending planes into Taiwan's ADIZ, with most instances occurring in the southwest corner of the zone and usually consisting of one to three slow-flying turboprop planes.

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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