Chinese military aircraft conducts exercise near Taiwan

Taipei, Dec. 11 (CNA) China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) has carried out another airborne military exercise near Taiwan, flying its aircraft over the Miyako Strait into the Western Pacific, Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense said in a statement on Monday.

The Miyako Strait, which lies between the Japanese islands of Miyako and Okinawa, is part of Japan's exclusive economic zone but includes a narrow band of international waters and airspace.

The planes consisted of Chinese Xian H-6 bombers, Shaanxi Y-8 transport aircraft and other aircraft, the ministry said.

There were no special developments related to the drill, and most of the planes later directly returned to where they came from while one group led by the Y-8 continued south into the Bashi Channel south of Taiwan before returning to China, it said.

The ministry said the drill did not pose a threat to Taiwan, but it pledged to continue to monitor any related developments as part of its efforts to safeguard Taiwan.

China has carried out many missions in skies close to Taiwan's air defense identification zone since August. Though Taiwan's military has repeatedly downplayed the moves, military analysts believe China is using them to obtain valuable information on Taiwan's air defenses.