5 Chinese military planes enter Taiwan’s ADIZ

Taiwan sent aircraft, broadcast radio warnings, deployed air defense missiles to track PLAAF planes

Five Chinese military planes were tracked in Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ) on Sunday (May 29), marking the 20th day of intrusions this month.

Four People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) Sukhoi Su-30 fighter jets and one Shaanxi Y-8 anti-submarine warfare plane flew into the southwest corner of Taiwan’s ADIZ, according to the Ministry of National Defense (MND). In response, Taiwan sent aircraft, broadcast radio warnings, and deployed air defense missile systems to monitor the PLAAF planes.

An ADIZ is an area that extends beyond a country’s airspace where air traffic controllers ask incoming aircraft to identify themselves.

So far this month China has sent 86 military aircraft into Taiwan’s identification zone, including 45 fighter jets, 22 spotter planes, 10 bombers, and nine helicopters.

Since September 2020, China has increased its use of gray zone tactics by routinely sending aircraft into Taiwan’s ADIZ, with most occurrences taking place in the southwest corner. In 2021, Chinese military planes entered Taiwan’s ADIZ on 961 instances over 239 days, according to the MND.

Gray zone tactics are defined as “an effort or series of efforts beyond steady-state deterrence and assurance that attempts to achieve one’s security objectives without resorting to direct and sizable use of force.”