According to the Ministry of National Defense, Chinese military aircraft flew into the southern area of Taiwan's air defense identification zone (ADIZ) on Monday, the second-highest single-day number this year.
On Monday, 30 Chinese military aircraft, two-thirds of which were fighter jets, entered the southern area of Taiwan's air defence identification zone (ADIZ), prompting Taiwan's defense ministry to scramble its own air force and deploy air defense missile systems.
According to the MND, the planes were made up of two KJ-500 airborne early warning and control planes, four Y-8 electronic signals intelligence planes, one Y-8 electronic warfare plane, one Y-8 anti-submarine warfare plane, six Shenyang J-16 fighter jets, eight Shenyang J-11 fighter jets, four Chengdu J-10 fighter jets, two Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jets, and two Sukhoi SU-30 fighter jets.
According to the Ministry of National Defense, Taiwan dispatched a combat air patrol, issued radio warnings, and deployed defense missile systems in response to the Chinese military jets.
Since Sept. 17, 2020, Taiwan's defense ministry has been posting details regarding such flights, amid an increase in Chinese military plane intrusions within the nation's ADIZ.
According to MND data, the largest number of invasions reported this year was 39 on January 23.
Chinese military incursions in the past
The intrusion was the largest since Beijing deployed 39 aircraft into the ADIZ in January. It launched 18 warplanes into the area earlier this month.
Beijing claims Taiwan as its own and hasn't ruled out using force to seize control of the island.
The US has accused China of inflaming tensions across the Taiwan Strait in recent months, citing aircraft incursions as an example of "increasingly provocative speech and conduct," according to Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Despite the fact that the United States has no formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan, it is the island's most significant international supporter and weapons supplier, and it continues a policy of "strategic ambiguity."
Following the latest incursion, Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen announced on Tuesday that the Taiwan military and the US National Guard were planning "cooperation."
Tsai met with visiting US Senator Tammy Duckworth at her Taipei office, noting that Duckworth was one of the principal proponents of the Taiwan Partnership Act.
The bill has bipartisan support in the US Congress, but it has not yet been signed into law.
"As a result," Tsai added, without explaining, "the US Department of Defense is now aggressively organizing collaboration between the US National Guard and Taiwan's defense forces."
Taiwanese media earlier suggested that Taiwan could collaborate on the program with Hawaii's National Guard.
Tsai continued, "We look forward to closer and deeper Taiwan-US cooperation on regional security issues."
Duckworth, a Democrat, said she was traveling to reaffirm that her country supports Taiwan and that US legislators have shown "tremendous" support for the island.
According to an AFP news agency database, Taiwan had 969 Chinese warplane incursions into its ADIZ last year, more than double the 380 carried out in 2020. Taiwan has reported 465 invasions so far in 2022, up nearly 50% from the same period last year, according to AFP.
The increased activity is putting strain on Taiwan's air force, which on Tuesday delayed new pilot flight training after reporting its second deadly accident of the year. The AT-3 fighter crashed on a training trip from the southern Gangshan airport, according to the defense ministry, and the body of the 23-year-old pilot had already been discovered.
China-Taiwan tensions are still high
Beijing has began sending huge sorties into Taiwan's defense zone in recent years to express displeasure and to put Taipei's aging fighter force under regular stress.
Taiwan, which is self-ruled and democratic, is constantly threatened by invasion by China, which regards the island as its own and has threatened to take it by force if necessary.
Last week, the US accused Beijing of inflaming tensions over the island, citing aircraft incursions as an example of "increasingly provocative rhetoric and conduct," according to Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Blinken's comments come after US President Joe Biden appeared to defy decades of US policy when he indicated during a visit to Japan that if Taiwan was invaded by China, Washington would support it militarily.