Why Chinese military’s latest Taiwan sortie suggests PLA is expanding scope of combat training

Name: Japan likely to defend Taiwan if Beijing makes moves, says ex-US national security official
Uploaded: 2021-06-16T15:59:00.000Z
Duration: 3 min 25 s
Description: Japan likely to defend Taiwan if Beijing makes moves, says ex-US national security official

Tuesday’s mission was the largest of its kind, but was also the first such operation conducted on the eastern side of the island, home to two key airbases

Military analysts say this suggests the PLA is trying to improve its operational capabilities and provide ‘realistic’ combat training

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Kristin Huang

Published: 11:59pm, 16 Jun 2021Updated: 1:04am, 17 Jun 2021

The PLA’s largest sortie into Taiwan’s air defence identification zone marked another step forward by the Chinese military because it was the first of its kind on the eastern side of the island, according to military analysts.

That side is the furthest from mainland China and hosts two major airbases that could play a key role in any invasion and are sheltered by the mountain ranges in the centre of the island.

Derek Grossman, a senior defence analyst at the Rand Corporation, a US think tank, said the latest operation “helps the PLA air force improve operational capabilities in line with the leadership directive to train under realistic conditions”.

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Japan likely to defend Taiwan if Beijing makes moves, says ex-US national security official

He continued: “If [mainland] China decides to invade and conquer Taiwan while countering US military intervention, then the Chinese air force would probably have to be comfortable operating in this region.

“The bottom line is this latest operation, to me, represents the next logical step toward readying the PLA for actual combat”.

Tuesday’s sortie – involving 14 J-16 fighters, six J-11 fighters, four H-6 bombers and four other planes – took off from an airbase in Fujian province and was the largest aerial incursion recorded by Taiwan.

The 28 warplanes flew into the southwestern part of Taiwan’s air defence identification zone, crossed the Taiwan Strait and then headed to the eastern side of the island via the Bashi Channel, according to Taiwan’s air force.