TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Two Chinese military aircraft entered Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ) on Monday (Nov. 16), marking the 11th such incursion since November.
A People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) Shaanxi Y-8 anti-submarine plane and a Shaanxi Y-8 electronic warfare aircraft entered the southwest corner of the ADIZ, according to Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense (MND). In response, the Taiwanese military scrambled fighter jets, broadcast radio warnings, and deployed air defense missile systems to track the situation.
For the past two months, Beijing has been making almost daily intrusions into Taiwan’s identification zone. On Sept. 16, two Shaanxi Y-8s flew into the southwest corner of the ADIZ.
On Sept. 18, Beijing sent 18 military planes — including H-6 bombers and J-10, J-11, and J-16 fighter planes split into five groups — to carry out flights to the northwest of Taiwan and in the southwest portion of the ADIZ, with some crossing over the median line in the Taiwan Strait. The following day (Sept. 19), an additional 19 Chinese aircraft, including bombers, fighter jets, and patrol planes, flew six different sorties between an area northwest of Taiwan and the southwest section of the ADIZ, with some straying over the median line.
On Nov. 2, eight PLAAF planes, including two Y-8s, two SU-30s, two J-10s, and two J-16s, carried out five sorties in the southwest corner of the ADIZ, marking the third-largest incursion since Sept. 16. The rest of the intrusions since Sept. 16 consisted of between one and three Chinese military aircraft, while on Oct. 22, a Chinese drone was also sent into the nation’s ADIZ.
Chinese Y-8 anti-submarine plane (MND photo)
Flight path of Chinese planes on Nov. 16 (MND image)
