20 Chinese military planes enter Taiwan’s air defense identification zone

In this photo released by Taiwan, an H-6 bomber equipped with a YJ-12 anti-ship cruise missile flies near Taiwan’s air defense identification zone.

On Friday (March 26), Taiwan’s Defense Ministry reported the largest incursion of Chinese military aircraft, marking a sharp escalation of tensions in the Taiwan Strait.

According to a release from Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense, a total of 20 Chinese military aircraft entered Taiwan’s air defense identification zone that day. It was the largest single-day incursion since Taiwan’s Defense Ministry began disclosing last year that mainland China flies almost daily in the waters between southern Taiwan and the Taiwan-controlled Plutas Islands in the South China Sea.

Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said in a statement that some Chinese aircraft flew in southern Taiwan airspace and passed through the Bus Strait between Taiwan and the Philippines.

The Reuters report quoted a person familiar with Taiwan’s security plans as saying that the Chinese military was conducting exercises to simulate military operations against U.S. warships crossing the Bus Strait.

China, which claims Taiwan as its territory, has stepped up its military activities near the island in recent months. Taiwan says China’s move endangers regional stability.

According to a release from Taiwan’s Defense Ministry, Chinese military aircraft that intruded into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone on Friday included four nuclear-powered Boom-6Ks and 10 J-16 fighter jets. The presence of so many Chinese military aircraft on a single day is unusual. Taiwan’s air force, for its part, suspended all training missions after two fighter jet crashes this week.

There was no immediate comment from China’s Defense Ministry. Beijing usually says such exercises are not unusual and are meant to demonstrate China’s determination to defend its sovereignty.

Earlier Friday, Taiwan and the Biden administration signed a “memorandum of understanding on the establishment of a maritime police working group” to coordinate policy.