Taiwan has denounced the incursion of nine Chinese military fighters into its airspace, in what is China’s largest initiative in the past two weeks. The Taipei Defense Ministry, Joseph Wu, reported a Y-8 RECCE model and 8 J-16 fighter jets, to which he responded by taking off his planes and issuing warning notices.
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According to Wu, Chinese aviation missions have been varied over the past two years. On 23 January, 39 Chinese fighters had made an incursion, but from that date onwards the air traffic has been sporadic. The ministry said the mission involved eight Chinese J-16 fighters and a Y-8 reconnaissance plane, which flew over an area north-east of the Pratas Islands, an archipelago in the South China Sea, controlled by Taiwan.
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Taiwanese fighters were dispatched “to warn Chinese aircraft and air defense missiles have been deployed to monitor activities,” the defense ministry said, using a standard Taiwanese phrase to describe its response in these cases.
Following the Russian attack on Ukraine, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen condemned Russia’s action against “Ukrainian sovereignty”. And she made it clear that Taipei “will continue to strengthen its preparedness to respond to military developments in the Taiwan Strait”, a sign that the island fears any backlash from Beijing, which claims sovereignty on the island.