The 17 aircraft “crossed the median line and entered Taiwan’s northern and central air defence zone”, Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defence said.
The line bisects the Taiwan Strait, a narrow 180-kilometre (110-mile) waterway separating the island from mainland China. In a post on X, Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defence stated:
26 PLA aircraft and 5 PLAN vessels operating around Taiwan were detected up until 6 a. m. (UTC +8) today. 17 of the aircraft crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait and entered Taiwan’s northern and SW ADIZ. ROCArmedForces have monitored the situation and responded accordingly.
The latest sorties came a day after Manila summoned a top Chinese envoy to protest a water cannon incident that damaged two Philippine vessels while on patrol in the South China Sea.
According to the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs, a coast guard vessel and another government boat were damaged in the incident on 30 April near the disputed Scarborough Shoal.
Manila and Beijing are linked by long-standing territorial disputes in the South China Sea, and the neighbours have been involved in several maritime incidents in recent months as they assert their competing claims in the strategic waterway.
Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defence has detected Chinese warplanes 30 times and naval vessels 16 times since early May. Since September 2020, China has stepped up its use of grey zone tactics, deploying more warplanes and naval vessels around Taiwan.
