Record 18 PLA bombers enter Taiwan’s air defence zone in latest ‘practice run’
- Cross-strait tensions remain high since US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the island in August, with US arms sales another point of friction
- Repeated air defence zone incursions and median line crossings aim to normalise PLA presence in area and raise combat preparedness, observers say
A total of 29 PLA warplanes and three warships were detected around Taiwan in the 24 hours to 6am on Tuesday, the island’s defence ministry said.
Of these, an unprecedented 18 H-6 bombers and one J-11 fighter jet entered Taiwan’s southwestern air defence zone.
A Y-8 anti-submarine and a Y-8 tactical reconnaissance aircraft also crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait, according to the ministry statement which included a PLA flight path chart.
“The [Taiwanese] armed forces have monitored the situation and tasked combat and air patrol aircraft, navy vessels, and land-based missile systems to respond to these activities,” the ministry said.
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“Obviously the PLA H-6s were practising formation flying and combat operation along with the J-11 jet and the PLA vessels,” said Ying Yu Lin, a professor of international relations and strategic studies at Tamkang University in New Taipei.
Since the August drills, the PLA had normalised its naval and aerial presence on the Taiwan side of the median line, Lin said. The tacit boundary had for decades served as a buffer against provocative adventurism as well as accidents.
The PLA has ramped up pressure on Taiwan since Pelosi defied Beijing’s repeated warnings to visit the island in early August. To Beijing, which regards Taiwan as a breakaway province to be eventually reunited, her trip was an act of violation of sovereignty.
Soon after Pelosi departed, the PLA launched days of huge live-fire drills around Taiwan.
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The periodic staging of war games close to the island has continued, albeit on a reduced scale. The PLA has also sent multiple sorties of warplanes and warships into the area, many crossing the median line to signal retaliation against Taiwan.
Lin said the PLA had also extended its training and exercise areas to the airspace or waters near South Korea and Japan, in an effort to practise cross-region combat operations, as indicated by its recent joint drills and sea patrols with Russia.
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Max Lo, executive director of the Taiwan International Strategic Study Society, a Taipei think tank, said the bomber fly-bys aimed to improve training and joint operations of PLA warplanes.
“After all, with rapid military build-up, the PLA needs to adapt to the latest changes and accumulate experience,” Lo said.
The H-6 sorties were the largest since Taiwan began releasing daily incursions data in 2020. The warplane is the PLA’s main long-distance bomber and some models are able to carry nuclear payloads.
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While the Taiwanese ministry did not identify the variants of the H-6 or say whether they came in one group or several, the fly-bys showed that the bomber squadron had already developed the capacity for multi-role missions, including patrolling, locating enemy fleets and precision-bombing.
“If it is the more advanced [nuclear-capable] variant like the H-6N or H-6K, the bomber is capable of aerial refuelling and carrying air-launched cruise missiles, which allows it to carry out long-range and stand-off attacks,” Lo said, adding that the aircraft was capable of attacking US carrier battle groups and priority targets in Asia.
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Tuesday’s fly-bys came close on the heels of the US House of Representatives passing the 2023 National Defence Authorisation Act, which includes US$12 billion in aid to the Taiwanese military to buy US weapons over the next five years.
The bill also authorises a “regional contingency stockpile” for Taiwan, consisting of “munitions and other appropriate defence articles” for use in the event of a conflict with Beijing.
The legislation is expected to clear the Senate next week before being sent to US President Joe Biden for signing into law.
Reunification with Taiwan is a major goal for Beijing, which has never ruled out the use of force in achieving it. The US, like most countries, does not recognise Taiwan as an independent state, but opposes any attempt to take the island by force.
