Taiwan says PLA warplanes approached close to island’s coast

19 PLA warplanes, including J-10 and J-16 fighters, detected since 8am on Saturday, defence ministry in Taipei says

Eight of the jets crossed the median line and ‘got close’ to the 24 nautical mile mark of Taiwan’s contiguous zone, according to ministry statement

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Beijing has regularly sent jets across the Taiwan Strait’s tacitly agreed median line since August. Photo: Xinhua via AP

Published: 1:40pm, 24 Jun 2023Updated: 9:53pm, 24 Jun 2023

Eight warplanes of the People’s Liberation Army crossed the Taiwan Strait median line and approached close to the island’s contiguous zone on Saturday, the Taiwanese defence ministry said, marking a further rise in tensions.

The PLA has routinely flown into the air space around Taiwan over the past three years. And since August, Beijing has regularly sent jets across the strait’s tacitly agreed median line, which had previously served as an unofficial barrier.

In March, Taiwanese Defence Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng warned that the island had to be on alert this year for a “sudden entry” by the PLA into areas close to its territory.

Taiwan defines its contiguous zone as being 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from its coast. Its territorial space is defined at 12 nautical miles from its coast, although the government has not reported PLA aircraft coming that close.

Starting from around 8am on Saturday, 19 mainland warplanes, including J-10 and J-16 fighters, had been detected by Taipei’s defence ministry.

Eight of the jets crossed the median line and “got close” to the 24 nautical mile mark, it said in a statement.

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