In April, China raised tensions in Taiwan, the island nation it claims sovereignty over, by flying 25 planes over its air space in what has become a regular habit of intruding into the country’s Air Defense Identified Zones (ADIF). On Tuesday, China surpassed this figure, flying 28 planes—the largest number since Taiwan began regularly reporting such actions last year.
According to Taiwan’s Ministry of Defence, China flew fighter jets, bombers, anti-submarine and early warning aircraft over Taiwanese airspace. The move came just days after the Group of Seven (G-7) issued a joint statement warning China against unilateral attempts to change the status quo in the East and South China Seas.
Just a week prior, the Chinese military has conducted an amphibious landing exercise in waters near Taiwan, days after a delegation of the US senators visited the estranged island in a military plane as a show of support.
According to a statement by the Eastern Theatre Command of the People’s Liberation Army, its 72nd Group Army carried out naval training that included transporting amphibious vehicles and conducting an assault landing in unspecified waters south of Fujian Province, which faces the self-ruled Taiwan island, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported on June 9.
According to the Taipei-based think tank Institute for National Defence and Security Research, China made 380 incursions into Taiwan’s ADIF in 2020.
In previous encounters, Chinese pilots have claimed they were flying in “Chinese airspace”. In April, Newsweek reported the following exchange between Taiwan’s Air Combat Command and a People’s Liberation Army pilot buzzing Taipei’s defence radars.
“This is the Republic of China Air Force. The Chinese military aircraft currently flying at 6,600 meters in Taiwan's southwestern airspace, you have entered our airspace and are affecting aviation safety. Turn around and leave immediately,” the TACC said. The PLA pilot responded: "This is all Chinese airspace."
The move comes as the US and its NATO allies adopt a tougher stance on China, with Monday’s NATO summit ending with a statement declaring China a security concern. On Tuesday, a US aircraft carrier group led by the nuclear-powered USS Ronald Reagan entered the South China Sea.
“While in the South China Sea, the strike group is conducting maritime security operations, which include flight operations with fixed and rotary-wing aircraft, maritime strike exercises, and coordinated tactical training between surface and air units,” the US Navy said.
“Carrier operations in the South China Sea are part of the US Navy’s routine presence in the Indo-Pacific.”
