Four Chinese fighter jets enter Taiwan's air defense identification zone
Feb 20, 2022
Taipei [Taiwan], February 20 : Four Chinese fighter jets entered Taiwan's air defense identification zone (ADIZ) on Friday, local media reported.
"Four Shenyang J-16 fighter jets of China's People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) entered Taiwan's air defense identification zone (ADIZ)," Taiwan News reported citing the country's Ministry of National Defense.
The highest number of PLAAF aircraft intruding into Taiwan's ADIZ on a single day so far this year has been recorded on January 23, when 39 Chinese planes were spotted.
The number was the highest since early October 2021, with a record of 56 planes on October 4, Taiwan News reported.
Beijing claims full sovereignty over Taiwan, a democracy of almost 24 million people located off the southeastern coast of mainland China, despite the fact that the two sides have been governed separately for more than seven decades.
Taipei, on the other hand, has countered the Chinese aggression by increasing strategic ties with democracies including the US, which has been repeatedly opposed by Beijing. China has threatened that "Taiwan's independence" means war.
