Why does mainland China keep sending planes into Taiwan’s air defence zone?
- The flights help train pilots and keep up the pressure on the island, but observers say they also help gather intelligence on the US and other countries
- Beijing has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan back into the fold and the large-scale sorties help the PLA prepare for a possible invasion
As well as helping to train its pilots and intimidate Taiwan while wearing down its air force, the flights are also meant to gather intelligence on the US and other countries operating between the Bashi Channel and South China Sea and familiarise the People’s Liberation Army with the area.
Data released by Taiwan’s defence ministry shows that since the beginning of last year, more than 650 PLA warplanes have entered Taiwan’s southwest air defence identification zone on their way to the Bashi Channel – the gateway to the western Pacific and the disputed South China Sea.
Responding to each incursion is costly and tires out Taiwan’s much smaller air force, which has to scramble twice or even four times as many planes to warn off their PLA counterparts.