Thursday, July 25, 2024
HomeMilitaryMainland China aircraft carrier nears Taiwan coast on way to PLA drills

Mainland China aircraft carrier nears Taiwan coast on way to PLA drills

ChinaMilitary

Shandong aircraft carrier, warplanes and navy ships skirt Taiwan coast on way to combat drills

Taiwan tracks at least 84 PLA warplanes and 33 warships in three days as the carrier conducts joint sea and air training in western PacificLargest mainland drills in months aim to make carrier combat ready, flex PLA muscles in the region and respond to Western military exercises, analyst saysChina’s militaryLawrence Chungin TaipeiPublished: 6:00pm, 13 Sep, 2023Why you can trust SCMP

Taiwan has tracked at least 84 People’s Liberation Army warplanes and 33 warships in three days as the Shandong aircraft carrier conducts joint sea and air training in the western Pacific in what may be the biggest PLA drill in months.The Shandong, the first carrier built by the mainland and the PLA’s second battle group, was spotted 60 nautical miles off Taiwan’s southernmost tip on Monday when it headed for combat training, according to Taiwan’s defence ministry.

Some 35 PLA warplanes – including J-10, J-16 and Su-30 fighter jets as well as Y-9 and Y-20 transport planes, KJ-500 airborne early warning aircraft and drones – were detected around Taiwan on Wednesday morning, the ministry said in a statement.

02:36

Mainland China launches military drill near Taiwan in ‘severe warning to separatist forces’

Mainland China launches military drill near Taiwan in ‘severe warning to separatist forces’

“Twenty-eight of them crossed the median line and entered our southwest air defence identification zone (ADIZ),” the ministry said, referring to the de facto line that separates the island from the mainland in the Taiwan Strait.

RELATED ARTICLES
- Advertisment -

Most Popular