China sends 25 military aircraft around Taiwan on Friday morning

The Taiwanese Ministry of National Defense (MND) said Friday morning (July 21) that it had detected an additional 25 Chinese military aircraft and four Chinese naval vessels around Taiwan since its report earlier the same day, Report informs via Taiwan News.

At 9 a.m. on Friday, the MND said that six People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) military aircraft and five People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) vessels had been tracked around Taiwan. Of the detected aircraft, 13 crossed the median line or entered the southwest and east sections of Taiwan's air defense identification zone (ADIZ).

At 12:30 p.m., the MND posted an update saying that since 6 a.m., 25 additional PLAAF planes and four more PLAN ships had been detected around Taiwan. The aircraft types include Chengdu J-10 fighter jets, Shenyang J-16 combat jets, Xian H-6 bombers, Shaanxi Y-8 and Y-9 aircraft, Shaanxi KJ-500 early warning aircraft, carrier-based helicopters, and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

Of these aircraft, 19 crossed the Taiwan Strait median line or entered the southwest and southeast ADIZ. The aircraft conducted long-range aerial reconnaissance training in coordination with Chinese long-range naval vessels in Taiwan's southeast ADIZ.

In addition, the MND said that four PLAN naval ships were deployed to carry out joint combat readiness patrols with Chinese military aircraft. The MND said it is closely monitoring the situation with its intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) system and, in response, scrambled combat patrol aircraft, dispatched naval vessels, and deployed land-based air defense missile systems.

The MND said "maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is the shared responsibility of all parties involved and is also the focus of global attention." It added that "any irresponsible provocative actions may lead to a sharp rise in tensions and worsen regional security," which will not be accepted by Taiwan or the international community.

China has dispatched 357 military aircraft and 143 naval ships around Taiwan so far in July.