DEFENSE/11 Chinese aircraft cross Taiwan Strait median line or extension: Ministry

Taipei, April 15 (CNA) A total of 11 People's Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait or its extension in the 24-hour period starting at 6 a.m. Sunday, Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense said Monday.

Of those aircraft, eight crossed the median line, while three crossed the extension and entered Taiwan's southwestern air defense identification zone (ADIZ). Both groups consisted of an unspecified number of fighter jets and drones, flight paths and information released by the ministry indicated.

Some of the aircraft flew as close as 41 nautical miles (75.93 kilometers) from the northern city of Keelung, the information showed.

An ADIZ is a self-declared area in which a country claims the right to identify, locate and control approaching foreign aircraft but is not part of its territorial airspace as defined by international law.

In total, 18 PLA aircraft were detected in Taiwan's ADIZ during the same period, while six PLA Navy vessels were also found to be operating in waters around the country, the defense ministry said.

The ministry said it deployed combat air patrol aircraft, Navy vessels, and coastal missile defense systems in response.

The ministry canceled its practice of identifying the types of PLA aircraft detected in Taiwan's ADIZ on Jan. 16.

Considering the changing security situation and threats, identifying the types of PLA aircraft could play into the hands of China, which could exploit this information to wage cognitive warfare against the Taiwanese public, military spokesman Major General Sun Li-fang (孫立方) said at the time.