Taiwan air force swings into action after 'spotting' Chinese jets

By Anadolu staff

ANKARA (AA) - Taiwan on Sunday claimed that its air force spotted 10 Chinese warplanes crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait, apart from four Chinese warships that carried out combat patrols.

The move, Taiwan's Defense Ministry said in a brief statement, prompted Taipei to send up its own fighters and deployed ships and land-based missile systems to "keep watch."

This is the second time in less than a week that Taiwan has reported Beijing's military activity.

On Thursday, some 37 Chinese warplanes entered Taiwan’s air defence zone over the course of about six hours, according to the island's Defense Ministry.

The statement said that as of 0600 GMT on Sunday, it detected 24 Chinese air force planes, including J-10, J-11, J-16 and Su-30 fighters, as well as H-6 bombers.

The ministry did not specify where the aircraft actually flew but claimed that 10 jets crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait, referring to the unofficial border in the middle of the strait which separates the island from continental Asia.

Four Chinese naval ships were also engaged in “joint combat readiness patrols,” the statement added, without providing details.

In April, China held war games around Taiwan following Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen's visit to the US.

Beijing last week blamed the US for “stirring up trouble” in the Taiwan Strait after the warships of the two nations had a close encounter in the waterway south of mainland China.

The US and Canadian warships were sailing through the Taiwan Strait on Saturday when a Chinese warship came within 150 yards of the US destroyer USS Chung-Hoon.

China considers Taiwan as its “breakaway" province.