(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) Chinese surveillance aircraft intruded into Taiwan's air defense identification zone (ADIZ) four times on Monday and was intercepted by Taiwanese fighter jets and escorted out of the zone each time, the Taipei-based Central News Agency reported Tuesday.
"On all four occasions, a Chinese Y-8 electronic surveillance plane flew through the southwestern corner of Taiwan's ADIZ, and its position was precisely identified by Taiwan's Air Force," Maj. Gen. Hsiung Hou-chi, chief of staff of the Air Force Combat Command, was quoted as saying.
The Y-8 planes flew through the zone en route to the Philippines and then flew back through the zone while heading home to the Chinese mainland, Hsiung said.
Each intrusion - twice in the morning and twice in the afternoon - lasted about 10 minutes, Hsiung said, adding that the Air Force Combat Command dispatched Mirage 2000 fighter jets and Indigenous Defense Fighters to intercept the Chinese aircraft.
They were the first intrusions into Taiwan's ADIZ in August by aircraft from another country. The ADIZ is an indication of national sovereignty, and Taiwan's military has an obligation to deal with any contingency involving the intrusion of foreign aircraft, Hsiung said.
China and Taiwan separated after a civil war in 1949, but Beijing still sees the island as its territory and has threatened to use force if Taiwan moves towards declaring independence.
Taiwan's relations with China have eased since Ma Ying-jeou, who has pledged to improve ties with China, first became Taiwan's president in 2008. Ma was re-elected in January 2012.
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