10 Chinese warplanes enter Taiwan air defence zone

Ten Chinese warplanes entered the Taiwan air defence identification zone on Friday, said the self-ruled island defence ministry. A total of 25 Chinese warplanes have entered the zone during the Han Kuang Exercise since its start on Monday, Kyodo News reported citing the ministry. Since September of last year, Beijing has stepped up its grey-zone tactics by routinely sending aircraft into Taiwan's ADIZ, with most occurrences taking place in the southwest corner of the zone.

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. On June 1, Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged to complete reunification with self-ruled Taiwan and vowed to smash any attempts at formal independence for the island.

(ANI)