China has rejected Taiwan’s claim that two Chinese military aircraft had breached Taiwan’s air defense identification zone four times, saying that it was a “routine flight” in “the relevant airspace.”
Taiwanese fighter jets were scrambled on Monday to intercept two Chinese military aircraft, which were identified as Yun-8 transport aircraft, and the Chinese planes left without incident, Air Force Combat Command Chief of Staff Major General Hsiung Hou-chi (熊厚基) told a news conference in Taipei on Tuesday.
“Our military aircraft carried out a routine flight on the 25th in the relevant airspace, there was no occurrence of any abnormality,” the Chinese Ministry of National Defense said in a faxed statement late on Tuesday.
Photo: EPA
The incident risks hurting relations between China and Taiwan.
While relations have improved under President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), deep political and military suspicions remain.
The breach of Taiwanese air space comes a week after the Pentagon lodged a diplomatic complaint with China about the conduct of a Chinese fighter jet, which it said came within meters of a US Navy patrol plane near Hainan Island.
China has said the criticism was groundless and its pilot maintained a safe distance from the US plane.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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