(0000 GMT) on Saturday, it had detected 19 Chinese warplanes, including J-10 and J-16 fighters. Taiwan's defence ministry said in a statement that starting around 8 a.m. Its territorial space is defined at 12 nautical miles from its coast, though the government has not reported Chinese aircraft entering either the contiguous zone or Taiwan's territorial air space. Taiwan defines its contiguous zone as being 24 nautical miles from its coast. In March, Taiwan Defence Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng warned that the island had to be on alert this year for a 'sudden entry' by the Chinese military into areas close to its territory. Taiwan's government rejects the claims and says only the island's people can decide their future. Since August it has regularly sent jets across the strait's median line, which had previously served as an unofficial barrier.īeijing claims democratically governed Taiwan as China's territory.

Taiwan strongly disputes Beijing's sovereignty claims and vows to defend itself if attacked.TAIPEI, June 24 (Reuters) - Eight Chinese war planes crossed the Taiwan Strait's median line and approached close to the island's contiguous zone that is 24 nautical miles (44 km) off its coast on Saturday, the Taiwanese defence ministry said, in a further rise in tensions.Ĭhina's air force over the past three years has routinely flown into the air space around Taiwan. were due to talk.Ĭhina, which has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control, has stepped up military activities near the democratically governed island to force it to accept Chinese sovereignty. In March last year, it sailed through the Taiwan Strait, just hours before the leaders of China and the U.S. The aircraft carrier participated in Chinese military drills around Taiwan in April, operating in the western Pacific. The ministry said the Shandong, commissioned in 2019, had sailed in a southerly direction through the western part of the strait, and it had dispatched 'appropriate forces' to monitor the Chinese activities. TAIPEI, June 21 (Reuters) - A Chinese aircraft carrier group led by the vessel Shandong sailed through the sensitive Taiwan Strait on Wednesday, Taiwan's defence ministry said, amid heightened military tension over the island Beijing claims as its own territory.

Download the new Pacific Warships