On Sunday, 19 military planes of the People’s Republic of China violated Taiwan’s air defense reconnaissance zone from the southwest, the Taiwan Ministry of Defense said.
Among the vehicles that violated the air defense were 10 Shenyang J-16 fighters, four Su-30 fighters, four Xian H-6 bombers and one Shaanxi Y-8 aircraft. According to a statement from the Ministry of Defense, Taiwan’s threat detection systems respond in real time and ensure the country’s security.
Although violations of Taiwan’s air defense zone by Chinese aircraft have become the norm in recent months, the country’s air force has reduced the intensity of such actions in recent weeks, sending mostly single Shaanxi Y-8 or Shaanxi KJ-500 vehicles. The last record of violations of the zone was set in mid-June, when 28 aircraft entered the zone, including 20 fighters. According to experts, the invasion was connected with the G7 summit, which indicated the need for a peaceful settlement of the situation in the Taiwan Strait.
19 PLA aircraft (Y-8 ASW, H-6*4, J-16*10 and SU-30*4) entered #Taiwan’s southwest ADIZ on September 5, 2021. Please check our official website for more information: https://t.co/4krSmean3X pic.twitter.com/1sV3OA4ode
— 國防部 Ministry of National Defense, R.O.C. ?? (@MoNDefense) September 5, 2021
Already in September, single planes of the Chinese Air Force entered the zone four times. On Saturday, two Xi’an JH-7s and two Shaanxi Y-8s also flew into the area from the southwest. In all recent incidents, Chinese planes have flown to the southwestern part of the zone, in the immediate vicinity of the Dongsha archipelago (Pratas), controlled by Taiwan.
According to a report by Taiwan’s Defense Ministry to lawmakers on Tuesday, China could paralyze the country’s defense in the event of a conflict. China’s People’s Liberation Army has the ability to conduct electronic and cyber attacks that can neutralize Taiwan’s air and naval defenses. The annual Han Kuan military exercise is scheduled for mid-September in Taiwan, which was scheduled to take place earlier, but was postponed to that date due to the pandemic situation. Their goal is to test the ability of China to respond to the potential threat of an offensive operation.