Beijing sends record number of jets to harass neighbour

Beijing sent a record number of fighter jets and bombers to Taiwan as days of military harassment brought a stark warning.

Two Chinese jet fighters during a military drill in the South China Sea. Picture: AFP

China dispatched a record number of fighter jets and bombers to Taiwan as days of military harassment brought warnings of war from Taipei.

The flights yesterday included 34 J-16 fighter jets and 12 H-6 bombers, according to Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defence, and were viewed as a show of strength by Beijing before western military drills in the South China Sea this week.

Joseph Wu, Taiwan’s foreign minister, warned of a possible war with the mainland. “The defence of Taiwan is in our own hands and we are absolutely committed to that,” he told ABC’s China Tonight program in Australia.

Chinese F-15 ‘Flying Shark’ fighters on the deck of the aircraft carrier Liaoning.

“If China is going to launch a war against Taiwan we will fight to the end and that is our commitment,” he added. “I’m sure that if China is going to launch an attack against Taiwan, I think they are going to suffer tremendously as well.”

He added: “We are pleased to see that the like-minded partners of Taiwan – the United States and the UK and Australia – are working closer with each other to acquire more advanced defence articles so that we can defend the Indo-Pacific.”

Washington has a pact with Taipei to supply sufficient hardware and technology to deter any mainland invasion.

The State Department said China’s actions were “destabilising, risked miscalculations and undermined regional peace and stability”. Su Tseng-chang, the Taiwan prime minister, said: “China has been wantonly engaged in military aggression, damaging regional peace.”

Taiwan Air Force fighter jets perform manoeuvres as a Taiwanese flag hangs from a lamppost in Taipei. Picture: Bloomberg

Alexander Huang Chieh-cheng, a professor of international relations and strategic studies at Tamkang University in Taipei, told the South China Morning Post that the flights were intended as a warning to the West. This week’s military drills in the South China Sea involve Australia, Britain and the US.

Hu Xijin, editor-in-chief of the Global Times, the Communist Party newspaper, wrote: “All the drills by the PLA [People’s Liberation Army] in the Taiwan Strait area are no longer limited to declaring sovereignty but are preparing for the gathering, mobilisation, aggression and logistics to attack Taiwan.”

The Times