Why Chinese military flights towards Taiwan prefer southwestern zone

Name: Taiwan denounces mainland China for ‘over the top’ flights into island’s air defence zone
Uploaded: 2021-10-23T23:00:20.000Z
Description: Taiwan denounces mainland China for ‘over the top’ flights into island’s air defence zone

There is a strategic objective to the PLA flight paths but the needs of commercial airliners may also have a part to play

Most of the record number of sorties head towards the southwest of the island’s air defence identification zone

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Most of the PLA’s more than 450 sorties towards Taiwan since January have concentrated on the southwestern part of the island’s air defence identification zone. Photo: EPA-EFE

Minnie Chan

Published: 7:00am, 24 Oct 2021Updated: 11:26pm, 24 Oct 2021

The PLA air force’s frequent flights towards Taiwan focus on the southwest of the self-ruled island’s air defence identification zone because of air control commitments and the geography of Taiwan’s central mountain range.

A record number of PLA aircraft have flown more than 450 sorties across the Taiwan Strait since January – mostly towards the island’s southwest – with 149 flights in the first four days of October, compared to 380 in the whole of last year.

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Taiwan denounces mainland China for ‘over the top’ flights into island’s air defence zone

“But why do the PLA aircraft just fly to the southwest, no other areas?” said Lu Li-shih, a former instructor at Taiwan’s Navy Academy in Kaohsiung.

“It is because there is a gap in the southwest, in Taiwan’s Central Mountain Range that is less than 3,000 metres (9,840ft) above sea level [the lowest point in the range], which allows the PLA’s aircraft radar system to glimpse Taiwan’s airbases in eastern Hualien and Taitung.”

Flying records issued by the Taiwanese defence ministry over the past few years showed the mainland aircraft included the KJ-500 with early warning and control systems, J-16 fighters, H-6K bombers, Su-30 fighters and others, indicating the drills were also aimed at collecting data on the island’s terrain and landscapes.