The Taiwan Air Defense Identification Zone is an air defense identification zone covering Taiwan and its surrounds. It includes a large portion of the Chinese mainland. A theoretical "median line" was defined in 1955 one year after the zone was established. The ADIZ includes international airspace that countries can arbitrarily monitor. In recent years, it has seen an increased number of sorties flown by People's Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft. [1] [2] [3]
The Taiwan ADIZ covers most of the Taiwan Strait, parts of Fujian, Zhejiang, and Jiangxi, and part of the East China Sea. It was designed and created by the United States Armed Forces (USAF) in 1954 [4] : 42 and the basis of Taipei Flight Information Region. [5] [6] : 15 The zone is monitored by PAVE PAWS radar located near Hsinchu and operated with help from US advisors. [7]
A theoretical line was defined in 1955 down the middle of the strait, supposedly named after USAF General Benjamin O. Davis Jr. [8] [9] [4] : 42 Aircraft from Taiwan flew combat missions on the other side until they lost control of mainland airspace to the PLAAF after the Second Taiwan Strait Crisis. ROCAF U-2 planes continued to fly over the mainland until 1968. [4] : 45–58 The line was avoided by the PRC until 1999 when groups of PLAAF aircraft crossed over in response to "state-to-state" comments made by Lee Teng-hui. Beijing has never recognized the line. [1] [3] The PRC has flown an increased number of sorties across the median line, [10] [11] although it tries not to do so when relations with Taiwan are good. [12]
Around 9% of Taiwan's national defence budget in 2020 reportedly goes into the response to Chinese sorties, which usually involve flights inside the southwest part of the ADIZ, crossing of the median, or circumnavigation. [13] Beginning in September 2020, the Ministry of National Defense of Taiwan (MND) began reporting PLA sorties in the ADIZ that flew beyond mainland territorial airspace. [1]
During 2021, 972 such sorties were flown by the PLA. This increased to 1,727 in 2022, [14] with the most on any single day being on 5 August after the 2022 visit by Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan, when 49 sorties were flown. [1]
On 26 December 2022, a record 71 PLA aircraft entered the ADIZ, including 43 that crossed the median line. [15]
After the United States approved a weapons sale to Taiwan in 2023, the MND reported thirteen PLA aircraft that crossed the median line on 25 and 26 May, including two Xian H-6 bombers. [16] [17]
The Taiwan Strait is a 180-kilometer -wide strait separating the island of Taiwan and continental Asia. The strait is part of the South China Sea and connects to the East China Sea to the north. The narrowest part is 130 km wide.
The People's Liberation Army Air Force, also referred to as the Chinese Air Force (中国空军) or the People's Air Force (人民空军), is an aerial service branch of the People's Liberation Army, the regular armed forces of the People's Republic of China. The PLAAF was officially established on 11 November 1949 and it is composed of five branches: aviation, ground-based air defense, radar, Airborne Corps and other support elements.
Pratas Island, also known as the Tungsha Islands or the Dongsha Islands, is a coral island situated in the northern part of the South China Sea administered as part of Cijin District, Kaohsiung, Taiwan. It is located about 170 nautical miles southeast of Hong Kong. It has an area of about 240 hectares, including 64 hectares of lagoon, and is the largest of the South China Sea Islands. It is the location of the Dongsha Airport.
The Second Taiwan Strait Crisis, also called the 1958 Taiwan Strait Crisis, was a conflict that took place between the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Republic of China (ROC). In this conflict, the PRC shelled the islands of Kinmen (Quemoy) and the Matsu Islands along the east coast of mainland China in an attempt to take control of Taiwan from the Chinese Nationalist Party, also known as the Kuomintang (KMT), and to probe the extent of the United States defense of Taiwan's territory. A naval battle also took place around Dongding Island when the ROC Navy repelled an attempted amphibious landing by the PRC Navy.
The August 1st or Ba Yi Aerobatics Team is the aerobatic demonstration team of the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF). It was founded in 1962 and named after the date of founding of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), August 1, 1927.
The Republic of China Air Force (ROCAF), retroactively known by its historical name the Chinese Air Force and unofficially referred to as the Taiwanese Air Force, is the military aviation branch of the Republic of China Armed Forces, currently based in Taiwan. The ROCAF was founded in 1920 by the Kuomintang. While its historical name is sometimes used especially in domestic circles, it is not used as often internationally due to the current ambiguous political status of Taiwan and to avoid confusion with the People's Liberation Army Air Force of the People's Republic of China (PRC).
The People's Liberation Army Naval Air Force is the naval aviation branch of the People's Liberation Army Navy.
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Quzhou Airport, also called Quzhou Air Base is a dual-use military and civil airport located 2.9 kilometers east of the city of Quzhou in Zhejiang Province, China. Originally only a military airfield for the People's Liberation Army Air Force, the airport was first expanded for use by American bombers during World War II, and was later occupied by Japanese troops. A small passenger terminal opened to commercial flights on 26 November 1993, though expanded commercial use of the airport has been hampered by continued heavy military presence due to the airport's proximity to the East China Sea and Taiwan Strait. Airlines operating out of Quzhou Airport generally operate medium to large narrow-body aircraft, such as the Boeing 737. Quzhou's commercial passenger terminal is unique in being separated from the airport's two aircraft bays by a lake, requiring passengers to walk across a lengthy causeway before boarding. The airport serves as the base of operations for regional carrier Quzhou Airlines.
The 1st Fighter Brigade, sometimes called 1st Air Brigade, previously 1st Fighter Division, is a fighter aircraft unit of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) based at Xianyang in Shaanxi province. Part of the Northern Theater Command Air Force, the brigade was originally established as the first division level formation of the PLAAF, established 19 June 1950. In the Korean War the unit shot down 92 airplanes. It was the first in PLAAF history to fight in air combat, provide close air support, perform night bombing operations and more. It is also the only air brigade of the People's Liberation Army Air Force to participate in five Chinese national day parades. The unit's MUCD is 93056.
An air defense identification zone (ADIZ) is the airspace of a country plus an additional wider area over land and water in which a country tries to identify, locate, and control any civil aircraft in the interest of national security. They are declared unilaterally and may extend beyond a country's territory to give the country more time to respond to possibly hostile aircraft. The concept of an ADIZ is not defined in any international treaty and is not recognized by any international body.
The East China Sea Air Defense Identification Zone is an air defense identification zone covering most of the East China Sea where the People's Republic of China announced that it was introducing new air traffic restrictions in November 2013. The area consists of the airspace from about, and including, the Japanese controlled Senkaku Islands north to South Korean-claimed Socotra Rock. About half of the area overlaps with a Japanese ADIZ, while also overlapping to a small extent with the South Korean and Taiwanese ADIZ. When introduced the Chinese initiative drew criticism as the ADIZ overlapped with the ADIZ of other countries, imposed requirements on both civilian and military aircraft regardless of destination, and included contested maritime areas
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Lin Hu was a Chinese aviator, fighter pilot and lieutenant general of the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF). Born to a Russian mother and a Chinese father, he was orphaned at a young age. Lin joined the Eighth Route Army to fight in the Second Sino-Japanese War before he turned 11. After the Second World War, he was trained as a fighter pilot and fought in the Korean War and the Second Taiwan Strait Crisis. He served as deputy commander of the PLA Air Force from 1985 to 1994 and attained the rank of lieutenant general in 1988.
The 2022 Chinese military exercises around Taiwan were a series of military exercises by the People's Republic of China (PRC) that encircled Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC). They initially lasted from 4–7 August 2022 and involved live-fire drills, air sorties, naval deployments, and ballistic missile launches by the People's Liberation Army (PLA). The exercises started in response to US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan.
The 8th Bomber Division or 8th Air Division of the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) is an air formation of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Today, the 8th Bomber Division is assigned to the Southern Theater Command and operates Xian H-6 bombers. The 8th Bomber Division, the first and longest-serving bomber unit in the PRC, has been deployed in the 1950–1953 Korean War, 1958 Second Taiwan Strait Crisis, 1959 Tibetan uprising, and today conducts deterrence patrols in the South China Sea.
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