39 Chinese airplanes intrude into Taiwan's airspace

Taipei – 39 Chinese airplanes intruded Taiwan’s airspace on Sunday. This is the largest Chinese intrusion this year and the second-largest to date. A few hours ago, US and Japanese warships had held war exercises in the Philippines Sea. It is claimed to be a warning from China to Japan and the United States for conducting a joint military exercise supporting Taiwan.

As per the information given by the Taiwan defence ministry, 24 numbers of J-16, ten numbers of J-10 fighter jets along with nuclear-capable H-6 bombers and airplanes used for electronic warfare intruded the Taiwanese airspace on Sunday night. Taiwanese air force deployed their fighter jets in response to the intrusion. At the same time, Taiwan activated the air defence systems and issued a warning to the intruding airplanes. Taiwan said that the intruding airplanes retreated after this.

This is the biggest intrusion by China in the Taiwanese airspace in the current year. Before this, China had intruded Taiwan’s air space 15 times in the last 23 days. Last year, on 2nd October, 56 Chinese airplanes had intruded into the Taiwanese airspace escalating the tension in the region. In the last year, 961 Chinese airplanes intruded into Taiwanese airspace. China has not reacted to the intrusion on Sunday.

A few hours ago, the US and Japanese warships held major war exercises in the Philippines Sea near the Taiwan Strait. Along with aircraft carriers, USS Carl Wilson and USS Abraham Lincoln, USS Essex from the US Navy and amphibious warships and destroyers from the Japanese navy participated in the exercises. At the same time, super-advanced US fighter jets, planes used for electronic warfare and surveillance aircrafts had carried out joint patrolling in the area.

The US navy announced that these joint exercises were carried out to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific sector. The US media claim that China has issued a warning to the United States and Japan by retaliating with an intrusion in the Taiwanese airspace with many airplanes. A few days ago, international analysts had warned that the Chinese fighter jets‘ intrusions into the Taiwanese airspace were a preparation drill for an attack on Taiwan.

Over the last year, China has become more aggressive on the Taiwan issue and there has been an increase in the intensity of the Grey Zone Warfare and war exercises. The Chinese leadership and the military top brass are consistently threatening Taiwan. Against this background, international analysts predict different possibilities regarding the war between China and Taiwan. However, there might be no immediate result from the Chinese attack on Taiwan. Scholars from the US think tank Brookings Institute had claimed that if China attacked Taiwan, the United States and its allies would enter the war, but no one will be able to achieve a decisive victory. Therefore, this could be a long-drawn war, these analysts had noted.