Chinese bombers, jets ‘breach’ Taiwan’s air defence zone

BEIJING: Eight Chinese bomber planes and four fighter jets have entered the southwestern corner of Taiwan’s air defence identification zone, and Taiwan’s air force deployed missiles to “monitor” the “incursion,” the island’s Defence Ministry said on Saturday.

“Airborne alert sorties had been tasked, radio warnings issued and air defence missile systems deployed to monitor the activity,” it said in a brief statement on Saturday. There was no immediate comment from China.

China, which claims Taiwan as its own territory, has conducted almost daily flights over the waters between the southern part of Taiwan and the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Islands in the South China Sea in recent months.