Angry Beijing Sends Nuclear Bombers In Force Into Taiwan's Air Defense Zone After US Arms Sale

Starting a new round of provocations against Taipei, China sent a record 18 nuclear-capable bombers into Taiwan's air defense identification zone (ADIZ), as Beijing sought to keep up pressure on the island nation.

A total of 29 PLA jets and three warships were detected around the island in the 24 hours till 6 am on Tuesday, Taiwan's defense ministry said.

Chinese forces repeated the incursions, with Taiwan's defense ministry reporting that it had monitored 11 PLA aircraft and 7 PLA naval vessels around the island till 6 am on Wednesday.

The latest round of provocations from Beijing comes after the U.S. approved the sales worth more than $425 million of military spares to Taiwan. It also follows the 5-day visit undertaken by a group of British lawmakers to Taipei on Nov. 29.

While China accused British lawmakers of "gross interference" in its internal affairs, Beijing also said Washington was acting "recklessly" to "aggravate the tensions," by approving the sale of military spares to Taiwan.

Among the incursions reported Tuesday, 21 warplanes were seen in the southwest corner of Taiwan's ADIZ. These warplanes included 18 H-6 bombers, one J-11 fighter jet, one Y-8 reconnaissance plane, and one Y-8 anti-submarine warfare plane, Taiwan News reported.

An ADIZ is established unilaterally, beyond a country's sovereign airspace, for the purpose of national security. Countries require the identification, location, and air traffic control of aircraft entering their established zone. So far this month, Beijing has already sent 231 military aircraft and 57 naval ships into Taiwan's ADIZ.

Taiwan's defense ministry said it monitored the situation and employed its fighter jets as well as land-based missile systems to track the Chinese PLA aircraft.

Significantly, the H-6 that entered Taiwan's ADIZ is the PLA's main long-distance bomber, with some variants capable of carrying nuclear payloads.

Although Taipei has not specified the type of H-6 involved in the incursions, the fly-bys demonstrate that the bomber squadron has developed the capacity for multirole missions, including patrolling, locating enemy fleets and precision-bombing, said a report in the South China Morning Post (SCMP).

The number of H-6 sorties reported Tuesday has been the largest in a 24-hour period since Taiwan started releasing data on Chinese incursions in 2020.

Noting that the bomber fly-bys were aimed at training for joint operations of PLA warplanes, Max Lo, executive director of the Taiwan International Strategic Study Society, a Taipei think tank, reportedly told SCMP that the aircraft was capable of attacking the U.S. carrier battle groups and priority targets in Asia.

"If it is the more advanced [nuclear-capable] variant like the H-6N or H-6K, the bomber is capable of aerial refueling and carrying air-launched cruise missiles, which allows it to carry out long-range and stand-off attacks," Lo told SCMP.

This is the first time that so many PLA bombers had flown to the southwestern corner of Taiwan's ADIZ, close to the Taipei-controlled Pratas Islands in the South China Sea, also claimed by Beijing as the Dongsha Islands, the SCMP report said.

Washington had on Dec 6 approved $425 million worth of spare aircraft parts to support Taiwan's fleet of F-16 fighter jets, C-130 transport planes and other U.S.-supplied weapons systems.

Responding to the announcement, Beijing accused Washington of using the "Taiwan card" to stir up trouble for China's development and reunification path.

"In recent years, while making stern promises to China on the Taiwan question, the US has emptied and undermined the one-China principle, continued to sell arms to the Taiwan authorities, pushed 'legislations' that brought negative impacts on the Taiwan Straits," Senior Colonel Tan Kefei, a spokesperson at China's Ministry of National Defense said according to a report in Chinese-state media Global Times.

China claims Taiwan, a self-governing democracy, to be part of its territory and has long vowed to "reunify" the island with the Chinese mainland, by force if necessary.

Tensions between China and Taiwan are running high since House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taipei in August, following which Beijing conducted several days of military drills around the island. China is also angered by developments in Washington that it believes indicate a shift in U.S. policy away from the long-held one-China policy toward Taiwanese independence.