SpaceWar.com - Your World At War
Chinese warplanes buzz Taiwan for third straight day
Taipei, Sept 23 (AFP) Sep 23, 2020
Taiwan scrambled jet fighters Wednesday after Chinese warplanes buzzed the island for the third straight day, its defence ministry said, the latest in a recent string of incursions sparked by a high-level US visit.

Two Chinese Y-8 anti-submarine aircraft entered Taiwan's southwest air defence identification zone (ADIZ) the ministry said in a statement, adding its jets had broadcast warnings to leave.

Foreign minister Joseph Wu on Tuesday said Beijing "must back off" following the recent incursions that started on September 16, the day before a high-ranking US diplomat was due to visit Taiwan.

Angered by the trip, China twice sent its fighters and bombers into Taiwan's ADIZ and across the "median line" of the Taiwan Strait during undersecretary of state Keith Krach's visit to Taipei.

A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman later said there was no such thing as the median line "as Taiwan is an inseparable part of Chinese territory," sparking condemnations from Taipei.

China considers democratic Taiwan part of its territory, to be absorbed into the mainland, by force if necessary, even though the island has been self-ruled for more than seven decades.

Beijing has ratcheted up pressure on Taiwan since the 2016 election of President Tsai Ing-wen, who rejects its view that Taiwan is part of "one China".

Washington's increased outreach to Taiwan under President Donald Trump has become yet another flashpoint with Beijing, as the US and China clash over a range of trade and security issues, as well as the coronavirus pandemic.


ADVERTISEMENT




Space News from SpaceDaily.com
Trump shifts priority to Moon mission, not Mars
The Quantum Age will be Powered by Fusion
BlackSky accelerates Gen-3 satellite into full commercial service in three weeks

24/7 Energy News Coverage
Conventional photon entanglement reveals thousands of hidden topologies in high dimensions
Philosopher argues AI consciousness may remain unknowable
Introducing the SEVEN Class A Thermopile Pyranometer

Military Space News, Nuclear Weapons, Missile Defense
Defence of Europe's eastern flank an 'immediate' priority: eight EU leaders
Trump signs $900 bn defense policy bill into law as Admin plans major DoD changes
PM Takaichi says Japan 'always open' to dialogue with China

24/7 News Coverage
Bible 1.0: How Ancient Canon Became Our First Large Language Models
Can scientists detect life without knowing what it looks like
Deep ocean quakes linked to Antarctic phytoplankton surges



All rights reserved. Copyright Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.