PLA reconnaissance drone crosses Taiwan Strait median line
ROC Central News Agency
12/22/2022 12:24 PM
Taipei, Dec. 22 (CNA) A Chinese reconnaissance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait between 6 a.m. Wednesday, and 6 a.m. Thursday, according to the Ministry of National Defense (MND).
The ministry added that 29 People's Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft entered Taiwan's air defense identification zone (ADIZ) during the same period.
In a statement, the MND said it had detected 39 aircraft and three naval vessels belonging to the People's Liberation Army (PLA) active in the vicinity of Taiwan.
Among these was a CASC Rainbow CH-4 UAV crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait, which functioned for many years as a de facto maritime border.
Graphic: MND
The aircraft that entered Taiwan's southwestern ADIZ included 21 J-16 fighters, two KJ-500 airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) planes, four Xian H-6 bombers, one Y-20 aerial refueling aircraft, and one Z-9 anti-submarine warfare helicopter, information released by the MND showed.
According to the MND, the military dispatched combat air patrol aircraft, Navy vessels, and land-based missile systems in response to the incursions.
Taiwan's ADIZ -- a self-declared area in which a country reserves the right to identify, locate and control approaching foreign aircraft -- is not considered territorial airspace under international law.
(By Matt Yu and Ko Lin)
Enditem/ASG
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