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PLA sends 57 planes near Taiwan in high-intensity combat exercise
- Taiwanese defence ministry releases flight path chart showing some aircraft appeared to form a blockade around the island
- 23 of the planes crossed the median line through the Taiwan Strait which separates the island from the mainland
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Lawrence Chungin Taipei
The PLA sent 57 planes and four warships close to Taiwan in the 24 hours before 6am on Monday, in what appeared to be a part of joint navy and air force combat drills announced by the mainland’s Eastern Theatre Command late on Sunday.
In a chart of the PLA aircraft flight paths released by the Taiwanese defence ministry on Monday, 28 of the planes appeared to be blocking off three sides of the self-ruled island.
In a statement accompanying the chart, the ministry said 23 of the planes had crossed the median line between the island and mainland China. These included 12 J-16 fighter jets, two Sukhoi Su-30 fighters, two J-10s, six J-11s and one KJ-500 early warning plane.
Two nuclear-capable H-6 bombers and three BZK-005 reconnaissance drones were also detected entering Taiwan’s southeast air defence identification zone, the ministry said.
Taipei’s Presidential Office condemned the PLA drills in a statement issued on Monday, saying they intensified cross-strait and regional instability.
“Through various ungrounded claims and reasons, the communist forces have persistently carried out military operations around Taiwan in recent days. For this, the Presidential Office voices its grave condemnation,” spokesman Xavier Chang said.
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