Politics

Taiwan denounces record 56 Chinese aircraft incursion into defense zone

Beijing, Oct 5 (EFE) .- A total of 56 Chinese combat aircraft entered Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zone last night, the island’s Defense Ministry said in a statement.

According to the military portfolio, there were two separate incursions in the southwest area of ??the zone in which J-16, J-11 and Su-30 fighters, H-6 bombers, KJ-500 radar planes and Y-8 reconnaissance aircraft participated.

The island Air Force issued radio warnings and mobilized units until the Chinese aircraft left the Taiwanese zone, which is not defined or regulated by any international treaty and is not equivalent to its airspace, but covers a larger area that includes areas of mainland China.

These 56 aircraft represent a record number in the increasingly frequent incursions of Chinese aircraft into this space, and adds to two others carried out Friday and Sunday.

In addition, it comes after the United States urged China to end this practice, which it described as “provocative” and “destabilizing”.

In response to Washington, Chinese Foreign Spokeswoman Hua Chunying assured said Monday night that “the United States must stop supporting forces in favor of the ‘independence of Taiwan’ and, instead, take concrete measures to maintain peace and stability in the Strait.”

“The US did wrong by selling weapons to Taiwan and strengthening official and military ties with the island, including a plan to sell weapons to Taiwan worth $ 750 million, landing US military aircraft in Taiwan, and shipping of warships across the Strait,” she said.

“China is firmly opposed to all this and has taken measures it deems necessary,” the spokeswoman added.

According to experts quoted by the Chinese newspaper Global Times, this latest incursion is “a strong warning both for the Taiwanese secessionists and for the foreign forces that support them.”

Taiwanese analysts said Monday that China aims to “increase pressure on Taiwan and show its military might to neighboring countries, as well as the United States and the United Kingdom.”

The number of Chinese military aircraft entering the Taiwanese ADIZ has increased in recent months.

On Sep. 24, Taiwan reported 24 Chinese fighter jets carried out similar maneuvers after the island applied to join the Progressive and Comprehensive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, something Beijing “categorically” opposes.

Taiwan, or Republic of China, is considered a sovereign territory with its own government and political system since the end of the civil war between nationalists and communists in 1949, but Beijing maintains it is a rebellious province and insists that it return to what it calls the common homeland.

The island is also one of the main reasons for conflict between China and the United States, mainly due to Washington being the main arms supplier to Taiwan and its greatest military ally in the event of a possible war with China.

In 1979, after breaking diplomatic ties with Taipei and establishing them with Beijing, the United States adopted the Taiwan Relations Act, in which it committed itself to defending the island and supplying military equipment, a commitment that has generated numerous frictions between both powers. EFE

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