China sends second-largest incursion of jets into Taiwan defence zone

Taiwan scrambled its own fighter jets on Sunday as China launched its biggest incursion into the self-ruled island's air defence zone since October

China sent 39 warplanes -- mostly fighter jets -- into Taiwan's air defence zone on Sunday, the island's government said, in the second-largest daily incursion on record.

Taiwan lives under the constant threat of invasion by China, which sees the self-ruled, democratic island as part of its territory to eventually be reclaimed, by force if necessary.

The island's defence ministry said late Sunday it saw 39 warplanes from China enter Taiwan's ADIZ -- the second-largest number of incursions on record, which is shared with October 2 last year.

The warplanes included 24 J-16 fighters -- which experts say are among China's favourite jets for testing Taiwan's air defences -- 10 J-10 fighters and one nuclear-capable H-6 bomber.

But the incursions come on the heels of the United States and Japan carrying out naval exercises in the Philippine Sea, an area that includes waters just east of Taiwan. 

Taiwan only started regularly publicising its data on air incursions in September 2020.

The defence zone is not the same as Taiwan's territorial airspace but includes a far greater area that overlaps with part of China's own ADIZ.

Last year, Taiwan recorded 969 incursions by Chinese warplanes into its ADIZ, according to a database compiled by AFP -- more than double the roughly 380 carried out in 2020. 

The air force temporarily grounded all F-16 fighters earlier this month after one of its most advanced F-16V jets crashed into the sea during a routine training mission, killing one pilot.

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