Taiwan scrambles jets as Chinese air force enters air defence zone

Taiwan’s air force scrambled on Sunday to warn off eight Chinese aircraft including fighter jets that entered its air defence zone, its defence ministry said, at a time of heightened tensions across the sensitive Taiwan Strait.

Taiwan has complained for a year or more of repeated missions by China’s air force near the self-ruled island, often in the southwestern part of its air defence zone near the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Islands.

The Chinese aircraft included six J-16 fighters, one anti-submarine aircraft and one surveillance aircraft, the defence ministry said in a statement late on Sunday.