TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Taiwan's Air Force has sent its fighter jets to stop two Chinese Y-8 maritime patrol aircraft that breached into Taiwanese territory, according to a senior Taiwanese Air Force officer on Tuesday.
An airplane breached the Taiwanese Aerial Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ) at 08.33 local time on Monday. Another breach was reported at 14.33 local time on Monday. Both aircraft were spotted at the disputed area above the South China Sea.
The aircraft reportedly took off from Guangdong Provice in China's southeast. The Taiwanese airforce dispatched its Mirage-5 and Indigenous Defense Fighter (IDF) jets to stop the aircraft from breaching further into Taiwan's ADIZ.
"We made sure that those aircraft leave ADIZ," Maj. Gen. Hsiung Hou-Chi of Taiwan's Air Force told the press, but he declined to detail the number of jets sent in both missions.
According to reports by The United Daily News, an unnamed Chinese military official rejected the Taiwanese claim that Chinese aircraft had breached into Taiwan's ADIZ. The official said that the purpose of those flights was to test Taiwan's surveillance and reactive capability towards possible intruders.
The incidents occurred amid rife speculation that China will soon establish its own ADIZ over the South China Sea to assert its territorial claims. Last year, China established an ADIZ in East China Sea, which covered a number of islands that are also claimed by Japan.
The tension between China and Taiwan has somewhat cooled since Ma Ying-jeou from the Kuomintang Party—which is on friendly terms with Beijing—was re-elected in January 2012. However, China continues to threaten Taiwan with military actions should it decide to declare its independence, according to AFP reports.
ANTARA
