16 Chinese planes breach Taiwan's air defenses
Taiwan's government said Sunday that China has sent 16 aircraft into the country's air defense zone, setting a new record since the latest wave of daily warplane overflights in early October.
On Saturday, the Taiwan Ministry of National Defense said that 16 aircraft of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) penetrated the southwestern air defense identification zone, including 10 J-16 fighter jets and six J-10 fighters.
The ministry added that the Taiwan Air Force issued radio alerts and activated missile air defense systems to monitor aircraft movements.
The ministry's data showed that during the period from 1 to 5 October, China carried out 150 war sorties over the Taiwan Air Defense Determination Zone. During the period from 6 to 15 of the same month, China did not conduct any military sorties except for sending three warplanes on October 10, the National Day of Taiwan.
The ministry said that during the period from October 16 to November 5, China continued to carry out daily flights, with the exception of the 23 and 30 of last month and November 3. The maximum number of aircraft entering the Taiwan Air Defense Identification Zone during that time period was eight.
The Chinese warplane flights on Saturday came a day after an official delegation from the European Parliament ended a three-day visit to Taipei to learn about Taiwan's experience in combating disinformation.
On Friday, European parliamentarians said the Taiwan visit was not a provocation because the decision was made based on the interests of European citizens.
Taiwan has had an independent government since 1949, but China considers the democratic island part of its territory and opposes any form of official contacts between Taiwan and other countries.
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