PLA sends record 56 warplanes over median line of Taiwan Strait in a day

Shandong aircraft carrier strike group is also conducting drills in waters to the southeast of the island

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The PLA is carrying out exercises to the east of the Bashi Channel between Taiwan and the Philippines. Photo: CNA

Published: 4:00pm, 12 Jul 2024

The People’s Liberation Army has sent a record number of warplanes across the median line of the Taiwan Strait, as a PLA aircraft carrier strike group conducts drills in waters southeast of Taiwan.

Taiwan’s defence ministry said 66 PLA planes and drones had been detected in the island’s air defence identification zone in the 24 hours from early on Wednesday.

Of those, it said 56 aircraft – a record high – had crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait, the unofficial boundary that splits the 180km (112-mile) waterway, separating the self-ruled island from mainland China.

The aircraft activity came as the PLA is conducting exercises to the east of the Bashi Channel between Taiwan and the Philippines, where fighter jets and helicopters have been seen taking off and landing from the Shandong aircraft carrier.

It also came as the United States and 28 allies are holding the world’s biggest international naval exercise, Rim of the Pacific (Rimpac), and sending a message to China.

The PLA Air Force had sent dozens of aircraft across the Taiwan Strait median line in a 24-hour period from Tuesday to Wednesday, the Taiwanese military said. Some of those planes then flew through the Bashi Channel to join the Shandong strike group training.