On Friday, 38 Chinese aircraft flew into Taiwan's air defense identification zone (ADIZ), marking the biggest daily Chinese intrusion into the region.
Chinese Aircraft Enter Taiwan's Territory
In a recently published article in Newsweek, Taiwan slammed China on Saturday after dozens of military aircraft flew into its air defense zone, claiming it was Beijing's most extensive invasion to date. On Saturday, 20 aircraft, all fighters save two anti-submarine aircraft, flew in the area of the Pratas Islands, according to Taiwan's Ministry of Defense.
It occurred less than 24 hours after the ministry said on Friday that 38 Chinese aircraft had flown into its air defense identification zone or ADIZ. Many nations establish this kind of airspace around their territory to monitor aviation traffic, although international law does not recognize it.
The ministry said that Friday's intrusion exceeded the previous high of 28 Chinese military aircraft into Taiwan's air defense zone in June. Taiwan Premier Su Tseng-chang noted, "China has been wantonly engaged in military aggression, damaging regional peace," according to a published report in NBC News,
Intrusions of Chinese Aircraft
According to Taiwan's defense ministry, the first wave of intrusions on Friday included 18 J-16, four Su-30 fighter planes, two nuclear-capable H-6 bombers, and an anti-submarine aircraft. It claimed in a separate statement that the second was made up of ten J-16s, two H-6s, and one early warning aircraft.
In a map released by the ministry, the first batch of Chinese aircraft flew in a region near the Pratas Islands, with the two bombers flying closest to the atoll. A second chart indicated that the second group sailed down into the Bashi Channel, which divides Taiwan and the Philippines and is a vital waterway connecting the Pacific and the contested South China Sea.
Following this, the Taiwanese military employed aircraft to warn Chinese jets away, as well as missile systems to keep an eye on them, according to a published article in The Hindu.
China Views Taiwan as Part of Its Territory
China sees Taiwan as an illegal breakaway province that is part of its territory. When China's civil war between communists and nationalists concluded in 1949, with the former victorious, the latter established a parallel government in Taipei.
In a published article in Yahoo News, Xi Jinping has ordered the PLA to increase its preparedness and train for warfighting under "actual fighting circumstances," according to Derek Grossman, a senior military expert at the RAND Corporation. As a result, it's not unexpected that the PLA continues to fly into Taiwan's ADIZ as part of realistic training and conflict preparation.
Last month, Chinese state media warned that allowing Taiwan to alter the name of its representative office in the United States would result in "serious" military and economic repercussions. Meanwhile, the Biden administration is considering renaming the office the "Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office" (TECRO) to the "Taiwan Representative Office."
