Incursion continues China's policy of intimidation

Taiwan News
Date: 2021/01/01
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — China showed no sign of ending its campaign to send warplanes into Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ), despite a conciliatory New Year’s address by President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) Friday (Jan. 1).

For several months, aircraft and ships from China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) have been approaching Taiwan in what has generally been considered a campaign of intimidation against the island’s independence-minded government.

While there was never any inkling that Beijing might stop the incursions just because a new calendar year started, the appearance of a Chinese military aircraft Friday morning at 11:35 dashed any hopes for a different approach.

As on previous occasions, the plane entered the ADIZ from the southwest and was soon told by Taiwan’s Air Force to turn back, the Liberty Times reported. Netizens speculated that the intruder was a Y-8 anti-submarine aircraft, one of the most frequent airplane types involved in the incidents.    [FULL  STORY]