Eight Chinese warplanes enter Taiwan's defence zone

Amid the growing military incursions from Beijing, at least eight Chinese warplanes entered Taiwan's air defence identification zone (ADIZ) on Sunday.

This was the sixth incursion in the month of October. Six People's Liberation Army (PLA) Shenyang J-16 fighter jets while one KJ-500 and a Shaanxi Y-8 anti-submarine warfare plane entered Taiwan's ADIZ, Taiwan News reported citing the Ministry of National Defence (MND).

In response to the incursions, Taipei sent interceptor aircraft and issued radio warnings while deploying air defence missile systems to monitor the PLA planes.

According to a report released by the MND on Oct. 27, China has sent more than 680 military planes into Taiwan's identification zone so far this year, Taiwan News reported.

Taiwan has been witnessing an increase in incursions as Beijing claims full sovereignty over the democratic island.

Taiwan is 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 also 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)

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