[台北 ２日 ロイター] – Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense announced on the 2nd that a large number of Chinese Air Force aircraft had entered Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zone following the previous day. 21 aircraft were confirmed in the last 24 hours. The “median line” of the Taiwan Strait was not crossed.
According to the Ministry of Defense, 17 J-10 fighters and four J-16 fighters flew to the southwestern end of the air defense identification zone. The J-10 is an older model that entered service 20 years ago and flew closer to the Chinese coast than Taiwan, while the newer J-16 flies northeast of the Platas Islands, which Taiwan effectively controls it.
Dongsha is located in a strategic waters area at the front of the South China Sea, and many Chinese military aircraft have been confirmed to fly in around this area.
The Ministry of National Defense said it had monitored the situation by sending in air force planes, and expressed its usual response to an attack by Chinese military aircraft.
The ministry also announced on the 1st that it confirmed that 19 Chinese military aircraft had entered Taiwan’s air defense identification zone.
