Another Chinese military plane spotted entering Taiwan's ADIZ

Taipei, June 26 (CNA) Another Chinese military aircraft has been spotted entering Taiwan's southwest air defense identification zone (ADIZ) on Friday, according to the Ministry of National Defense (MND).

Shih Shun-wen (史順文), spokesman for the Ministry of National Defense (MND), confirmed to CNA that a Chinese military plane briefly entered Taiwan's ADIZ that morning, prompting Taiwanese patrol aircraft to respond with radio warnings until it left the ADIZ.

The movement by the People's Liberation Army (PLA) came after three U.S. military planes flew over the Bashi Channel into the South China Sea that same day.

According to a post by the South China Sea Probing Initiative (SCSPI), a Twitter site set up by the Peking University Institute of Ocean Research, the American planes came in three separate intervals, consisting of an EP-3E -- an electronic warfare and reconnaissance plane -- a P-8A maritime patrol aircraft, and an aerial refueling KC-135T.

Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, noted that the SCSPI has been posting frequently about the tracking movements of U.S. military aircraft in the region recently.

However, Su predicted, there will not be a direct conflict between the two major powers, as the PLA still lags far behind the U.S. in terms of military strength.

As such, Su believes the only reaction Beijing can do at the moment is to use platforms such as the SCSPI as a propaganda tool to exert its security claim over the South China Sea.