Taipei: China has sent anti-submarine aircraft into Taiwan’s air defence identification zone (ADIZ) during Christmas Day on Saturday, local media reported.
“China sent a Shaanxi Y-8 anti-submarine warfare (ASW) plane into Taiwan’s ADIZ,” Taiwan News reported citing the country’s Ministry of National Defence.
The highest concentration of incursions took place in early October this year, with a record 56 aircraft involved on Oct. 4. The period coincided with China’s national day on Oct. 1 and Taiwan’s Double Ten on October 10, Taiwan News reported.
Beijing claims full sovereignty over Taiwan, a democracy of almost 24 million people located off the southeastern coast of mainland China, despite the fact that the two sides have been governed separately for more than seven decades.
Taipei, on the other hand, has countered the Chinese aggression by increasing strategic ties with democracies including the US, which has been repeatedly opposed by Beijing. China has threatened that “Taiwan’s independence” means war.
