Breitbart
Date: 15 Apr 20204
By: Gabrielle Reyes0

Two United States military aircraft reportedly flew close to Taipei’s southern airspace on Monday, the Taipei Times said.

The newspaper, citing flight charts posted on Twitter, identified a U.S. RC-135W Rivet Joint and a Lockheed P-3 Orion in the airspace north of the South China Sea. Aircraft Spots, a military air movement tracker, posted the images.

The two planes flew at different intervals, with the RC-135W reconnaissance plane spotted first over the Bashi Channel, southwest of Taiwan, according to the flight charts. The Bashi Channel connects the South China Sea with the western Pacific Ocean and runs between Taiwan and the Philippines. China claims nearly the entire South China Sea despite an international court ruling in 2016 that its claims are entirely illegal.

Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense (MND) did not directly confirm the aircraft sightings. However, MND spokesman Major General Shih Shun-wen said Taiwan’s military is closely monitoring the nation’s surrounding waters and airspace.    [FULL  STORY]