Taiwan said on Sunday that dozens of Chinese military aircraft intruded into its air defense zone.
The island democracy’s Ministry of National Defense said it scrambled combat patrol aircraft, issued radio warnings, and deployed air defense missile systems to drive away the intruders.
Among the 27 Chinese aircraft detected was a Xi’an Y-20U aerial tanker, which Taiwan News reported was possibly the first time a Chinese refueling mission was conducted in Taiwan’s air defense identification zone. The other aircraft reported by Taiwanese officials were 18 fighters jets and five nuclear-capable H-6 bombers.
CHINA’S HOCKEY TEAM MAY NOT MEET STANDARDS TO COMPETE IN 2022 OLYMPICS
President Xi Jinping of China held a three-day meeting over the weekend with the country’s top officers to discuss how to strengthen the armed forces through talent cultivation, according to Reuters, which reported Xi made no mention of Taiwan but did stress the need to modernize the country’s military in order to win wars.
“It is necessary to make great efforts to strengthen scientific and technological literacy and improve the actual ability to win modern wars,” the official Xinhua news agency cited Xi as saying. “It is necessary to strengthen practical experience and encourage and guide officers and soldiers to experience the wind and rain, see the world, strengthen their muscles and bones, and develop their talents in fiery military practice.”
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Taiwan, known as the Republic of China, is an independent democratic island nation off the coast of mainland China. It receives U.S. defense support but has not been recognized by the U.S. government, as diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China, the communist government on the mainland, were normalized.
The Chinese Communist Party has long sought to bring Taiwan under its control, but it has remained a separate, self-governing entity. The United States’s policy on what would happen if China actually attacked Taiwan has been described as “strategic ambiguity.”
Tensions are on the rise. Chinese warplanes harried Taiwan’s air defense zone in the lead-up to National Day celebrations in both capitals, alarming President Joe Biden’s administration and lawmakers.
President Tsai Ing-wen of Taiwan confirmed in late October U.S. military troops were present on the island for training purposes in the face of Chinese aggression.
