Chinese army scrambles fighter jets across Taiwan Strait as US plane believed to carry Nancy Pelosi nears
- It is not clear if Pelosi or her delegation are on the plane and politicians in Taiwan remain coy about a visit from US House speaker
- PLA drills in the South China Sea and Bohai Sea this week are viewed as Beijing’s efforts to deter Pelosi from visiting self-ruled island

The Chinese army has dispatched an unknown number of Su-35 multi-role fighter jets across the Taiwan Strait as the plane believed to be carrying Nancy Pelosi approached Taiwan, mainland media reported.
A social media account affiliated with state broadcaster CCTV reported the deployment late on Tuesday.
This came after the US Air Force jet that flew House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Malaysia headed east towards Borneo on Tuesday before taking a detour around the Philippines, skirting the South China Sea en route to Taiwan.
Flight SPAR19 left Kuala Lumpur at 3.42pm, according to tracking website Flightradar24.
Citing sources, American political analyst Josh Rogin said the route was “designed to minimise the security risks”.
Flightradar24 showed the plane entering Taiwan’s air identification zone from the southwestern side at around 10pm. The website indicates the flight is estimated to arrive in Taipei at 10.44pm.