China has deployed 71 combat aircraft, including 60 fighter jets, in military maneuvers this weekend around Taiwan, the Taipei Defense Ministry said on Monday (December 26th).
Beijing said it conducted military exercises on Sunday near Taiwan, which it claims, in response to "
provocations
" and "
collusion
" between the United States and authorities on the island.
In a post on Twitter, Taiwan said 60 fighter jets took part in the exercises, including six SU-30s, among China's most advanced aircraft.
In its daily update, the Ministry of Defense further indicates that 47 of these planes entered the air defense zone of the autonomous democratic island, which constitutes the third largest daily incursion recorded, according to the base. AFP data.
Beijing takes a dim view of rapprochement with the United States
China considers Taiwan, with a population of 24 million, to be one of its provinces, which it has yet to successfully reunify with the rest of its territory since the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949. She sees with dissatisfaction the rapprochement at work in recent years between the Taiwanese authorities and the United States, which has provided the island with military support against Beijing for several decades.
Beijing did not specify the number of devices mobilized for the exercises on Sunday, nor the exact location of these maneuvers.
Data from the Taiwanese Ministry of Defense indicates that most of the incursions were in the southwestern tip of the Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ).
Some have also crossed the "
median line
" which runs along the Taiwan Strait.
Many nations maintain ADIZ, including the United States, Canada, South Korea, Japan, and China.
These zones are not identical to a country's airspace, but encompass a much larger area, designed to give a country more time to identify a potentially hostile aircraft and respond to an intrusion.
Taiwan's ADIZ includes part of China's and even includes a portion of the mainland.