20 Chinese Warplanes enter Taiwan’s ADIZ after it Signs Coast Guard Pact with U.S.

A total of 20 Chinese warplanes entered Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) today, a day after the latter signed an agreement to set up a Coast Guard Working Group (CGWG) with the United States.

Chinese military aircraft that entered the ADIZ on Friday include two Shaanxi Y-8 anti-submarine warfare (ASW), four H-6K bombers, ten J-16 fighters, two J-10 fighters, one KJ-500 airborne early warning and control plane and one Y-8 tactical reconnaissance aircraft, Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense (MND) said in a statement.

Read: Chinese Incursions into Taiwan ADIZ Highest since 1996

The Y-8 ASW aircraft and the H-6K bombers almost took a half-circle in airspace near southern Taiwan while the others operated in the airspace between Taiwan and the Taiwanese-controlled Dongsha Islands, a chart provided by the MND showed. This airspace is considered by Taiwan as part of its ADIZ, which is declared by a country to allow it to identify, locate and control approaching foreign aircraft, but such zones are not recognized under international laws.

The CGWG accord signed with the U.S. on Thursday is seen by some analysts as their response to China's recent passage of the Coast Guard Law, under which Chinese coast guard vessels are allowed to use weapons against foreign ships in waters China considers as its own.