Chinese military tests Taiwan’s radar system with surface-level incursion into air defence zone
- The tactical reconnaissance plane carried out a low-flying mission that tested the Tawainese military’s capabilities
- Island’s security chief accuses Beijing of stoking tensions in the region with its continued military build-up
A low-flying People’s Liberation Army spy plane entered Taiwan’s air defence identification zone on Monday to test its radar response and gather intelligence as the island’s security chief warned Beijing was stoking tensions in the region.
A Y-8 tactical reconnaissance plane entered Taiwan’s southwest air defence identification zone on Monday morning, flying at an altitude as low as 30 metres (100ft), according to SouthwestAirspaceofTW, a Facebook page that records aviation activities in southwest Taiwan.
It was the lowest flight recorded since Taiwan’s defence ministry started making public all PLA incursions in September last year. The Taiwanese military responded by scrambling military aircraft and issuing radio warnings to dispel the spy plane, according to the Facebook page, which recorded the air force’s warning.
Shortly before the incursion, a Y-8 electronic warfare plane also entered the same zone, only to be warned off by the Taiwanese air force. The island’s defence ministry later confirmed the incursions, but did not specify the flight altitudes of both planes.
Ying Yu Lin, an adjunct assistant professor at the Institute of Strategic and International Affairs at National Chung Cheng University in southern Taiwan, said Monday’s low-altitude flight served to test the Taiwanese military’s radar response capability.
“Usually, radar signals will be obstructed by certain topography such as a mountain. By flying at an altitude of 30 metres, the PLA plane was testing if it could fly beneath the radio wave coverage area,” Lin said.