Taiwan’s defense ministry confirmed on Twitter that China flew nine planes into Taiwan’s air defense zone. None of the planes made it to Taiwan itself. China, which claims Taiwan as its own territory, has flown into the air defense zone regularly over the last couple years. Thursday’s flight of nine planes pales in comparison to the 39 plane sent in one flight last month.
The defense ministry said the latest mission involved eight Chinese J-16 fighters and one Y-8 reconnaissance aircraft. They flew over an area to the northeast of the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Islands at the top end of the South China Sea.
While it wasn’t as large as previous flights into Taiwan’s air defense zone, Thursday’s flight is noticeable because it came on the same day Russia began large-scale military invasion of Ukraine. Taiwan was one of many countries condemning Russia for the invasion.
“Our country once again calls on all parties to respect Ukraine’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, opposes unilateral changes to the status quo by force or coercion, and calls on all parties concerned to continue to resolve differences through peaceful and rational dialogue,” Taiwan Foreign Ministry spokesperson Joanne Ou said. “We will coordinate closely with the United States and other like-minded countries to take appropriate actions in response to jointly assist Ukraine and uphold the regional peace and stability.”
Taiwan has been closely monitoring the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, nervous that China may try to take advantage to move on the island. While Taiwan has not reported any unusual movements by Chinese forces, the government has increased its alert level.
China and Russia expressed their solidarity regarding both Ukraine and Taiwan earlier this month. However, a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry said earlier this week that the two situations are not the same. She accused Taiwan authorities of latching onto and exploiting “the Ukraine issue to their benefit.”
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Reuters
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