35 Chinese warplanes cross Taiwan Strait median line: MND
ROC Central News Agency
04/09/2023 09:12 PM
Taipei, April 9 (CNA) The Ministry of National Defense (MND) said 35 Chinese military aircraft crossed the Taiwan Strait median line Sunday, as drills launched in response to a meeting between President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy continued for a second day.
The planes were among 70 Chinese aircraft and 11 naval ships detected in the general vicinity of Taiwan as of 4 p.m. Sunday, the second of three planned days of PLA drills around the island, according to the MND.
Included in Sunday's sorties were Sukhoi SU-30 fighter jets, Shenyang J-10, J-11, J-15 and J-16D fighter jets, Y-8, Y-9, Y-20 transport aircraft, H-6K bomber aircraft, and KJ-500 airborne early warning and control planes, the MND said.
In response to the median line breaches and incursions into Taiwan's Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ), the MND said it had scrambled combat air and naval patrols to track Chinese military aircraft and warships as well as deployed defensive missile systems.
Graphic courtesy of the Ministry of National Defense
The number of aircraft deployed by PLA near Taiwan on Sunday was slightly lower than the tallies seen a day ago but far higher than the daily tallies seen in recent weeks.
The ministry said the nation's armed forces were monitoring the situation and would remain on high alert to defend the country's sovereignty and national security.
Taiwan's armed forces are using combined intelligence and surveillance systems to monitor for signs of potential missile drills by the PLA Rocket Force (PLARF) in nearby waters, according to the MND.
In addition, the Air Force's Air Defense Artillery Command and the Army's 21st Artillery Command are conducting combat preparedness drills using Oerlikon 35 mm twin cannon anti-aircraft guns and Avenger air defense systems, respectively, the MND said.
The PLA's ongoing drills are widely seen as a response to Tsai's meeting with McCarthy on April 5 (U.S. time) during a stopover in California at the tail end of her 10-day overseas trip to visit Taiwan's two allies in Central America, namely, Guatemala and Belize.
Tsai's meeting with McCarthy was the third between a Taiwanese leader and a sitting House speaker and the first on U.S. soil since the Republic of China (Taiwan) and Washington ended official diplomatic relations in 1979.
In August 2022, then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi met with Tsai in Taiwan, while then-Speaker Newt Gingrich met with then-President Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) in Taipei in 1997.
Beijing, which sees Taiwan as part of its territory, protested the meeting between Tsai and McCarthy, warning that it would take "resolute measures" to protect Chinese sovereignty.
Last week, the PLA's Eastern Theater Command announced it would launch three days of exercises in the Taiwan Strait, as well as the sea and air regions to the north, south, and east of Taiwan from Saturday to Monday.
As part of the "Joint Sword" drill, the Chinese aircraft carrier Shandong (山東艦) is on what is expected to be long-range training exercises about 200 nautical miles east of Taiwan.
Meanwhile, China's Fujian Maritime Safety Administration (MSA) has also announced that it will hold live-fire exercises in China's territorial waters near Luoyuan Bay in Fujian Province, which is located about 300 kilometers west of Taiwan, on Saturday, as well as April 11, 13, 15, 17 and 20 from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m.
The MSA also said a round of live-fire drills at Pingtan in Fujian from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Monday, which is located 13 nautical miles south of Taiwan-controlled Matsu Islands.
In response, the Cabinet-level Ocean Affairs Council on Sunday warned Taiwanese fishermen to avoid the area on Monday for safety reasons.
(By Joseph Yeh)
Enditem/ASG
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