Taiwanese F-16s Scramble to Intercept Chinese Air Patrol: PLA H-6s and J-11s Circle Formosa

Taiwan’s Air Force has scrambled F-16 Fighting Falcons to intercept J-11 heavyweight fighters and H-6 bombers from the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, which were on patrol near the territory. The patrol was part of regular manoeuvres which saw the Chinese aircraft fly through the Bashi Channel south of Taiwan and into the Pacific, before returning to base through the Miyako Strait to Taiwan’s northeast. Both aircraft have a high endurance and field powerful sensors, making them well suited to such patrols. Taiwan’s armed forces reported regarding the incident: “during this period, the national military appropriately used air reconnaissance aircraft and air defence forces in accordance with combat readiness regulations,” while claiming that the manoeuvres “endanger the peace and welfare of all parties in the region.”

The patrol comes amid ongoing tensions between Taipei and Beijing, which have remained technically at war for over 70 years. The government of Taiwan, officially the Republic of China, claims sovereignty over the entire Chinese mainland, while Beijing claims sovereignty over Taiwan itself. The former enjoys negligible international recognition for its claim, however. Taiwan lacks recognition as a state and does not have a seat at the United Nations, although it has continue to receive arms in considerable quantities from the United States - which furnished the Air Force with its F-16s in the 1990s and and set to deliver 66 more of the ageing jets in the coming years.