The government of Taiwan has reported that 39 Chinese military jets have entered their air defense zone, a move that marks China’s most significant incursion into Taiwanese air space to date.
The U.S. warned China after the “provocative military activity” that threatened Taiwan.
There were two waves of planes, one at night and one during the day. This comes on the heels of a similar incursion that happened Friday, involving 38 aircraft, some of which were nuclear-capable bombers.
Taiwan Premier Su Tseng-chang commented on the matter on Saturday: “China has been wantonly engaged in military aggression, damaging regional peace.”
Though Beijing has not yet commented on the incursion, it has explained events such as these in the past as necessary efforts to protect China’s sovereignty and to prevent collusion between the United States and Taiwan.
16 PLA aircraft (J-16*8, SU-30*4, Y-8 ASW*2 and KJ-500 AEW&C*2) entered #Taiwan’s southwest ADIZ on October 3, 2021. Please check our official website for more information: https://t.co/j7k62hne0V pic.twitter.com/dz5emGj2d4
— 國防部 Ministry of National Defense, R.O.C. 🇹🇼 (@MoNDefense) October 3, 2021
Beijing often makes public displays like these if they aren’t happy about something Taiwan has said. There’s a good chance China is also feeling more confident to do things like this after watching the United States’ poor withdrawal from Afghanistan.