(Newsweek) – Taiwan reported the largest Chinese military air and sea maneuvers of the month on Tuesday, when it said 30 warplanes and 9 warships were detected in its vicinity.
At least 13 of the People’s Liberation Army aircraft—unspecified numbers of fighter jets, support planes and unmanned aerial vehicles—crossed the center line of the Taiwan Strait and entered the island’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ) in the 24 hours to 6 a.m. local time on February 6, Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said in a daily report.
An ADIZ—also deployed by neighboring China, South Korea, Japan and the Philippines—is a self-declared buffer zone in international airspace used to identify foreign military and civilian aircraft. This week’s PLA air incursions were the first to reach double figures in February, after having done so on three occasions last month.
Taiwan said its forces “monitored the situation and employed appropriate forces to respond,” according to a public statement. Because of the slower movements of PLA naval vessels in its surrounding waters, Taiwan typically does not disclose their relative positions.
China’s Defense Ministry could not be reached for comment.
