Chinese Fighters Enter Taiwan’s Airspace After Missile Tests

Taiwanese warplanes intercepted Chinese planes and chased them off

With military tensions surrounding Taiwan already on the rise, the island decided this would be a good time to conduct a series of missile tests from several areas. This sparked an immediate reaction from China, in the form of multi-role fighter jets.

The Defense Ministry reported the planes entered Taiwanese airspace early Wednesday, but that Taiwanese planes intercepted them and chased them back out of the area. China sent Su-30 and J-10 fighters. No serious incidents were reported.

Taiwanese officials condemned the “unilateral actions,” and tried to link them to President Tsai’s call for a coalition of democracies to defend freedom in the region. It seems clear, however, that the missile tests precipitated the reaction from China.

This may not be the end of the matter, either, with Taiwanese officials saying the missile tests are scheduled to continue into Thursday, and China no doubt continuing to watch that very closely.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.