China Asserts Its Claim On Taiwan With 28 Fighter Jets Breaching Island’s Air Defense Zone

Further increasing the military pressure on Taiwan, 28 aircraft of China's Air Force, including 14 J-16 and six J-11 fighters, have entered the island nation's air space.

Chinese aircraft were detected in Taiwan's southwestern air defence identification zone on Tuesday (15 June).

Taipei's military sent patrol aircraft, issued radio warnings and deployed air defence missile systems to monitor the activity, reports Livemint.

Taiwan and mainland China have been separately governed since they split in 1949 following the Chinese civil war. The relationship between mainland China and the island state has worsened since Tsai Ing-wen became Taiwanese president in 2016.

In April this year, the Liaoning aircraft carrier of the Chinese Navy had carried out exercises near Taiwan. Analysts opine that Chinese actions in recent times validate China's claim that Taiwan is part of its territory and the possibility of military intervention to control the island.

Recently, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has incurred the wrath of China for referring to Taiwan as a country.

Suga government's outreach to Taiwan has irked the Chinese leadership, which has never renounced the use of force to reunify the island with the mainland. While Japan ended diplomatic ties with Taipei and established them with Beijing in 1972, Taiwan and Japan have continued to maintain relations primarily through economic cooperation by the private sector.