chinese jets

Taiwan Defense Ministry said it sent aircraft to shadow China air force fighter jets as they flew through the Bashi Channel to the south of the Island. China sent an unspecified number of Xian H-6 bombers, Su-30 fighter jets and Y-8 transport aircraft over the waterway on their way to the West Pacific Ocean; they were followed by Taiwan jets until the mainland aircraft returned to base.

Meeting New Taipei City Mayor Eric Chu in Shanghai on Monday, the newly appointed head of China’s policy- making Taiwan Affairs Office, Liu Jieyi, said China was clear in its opposition to Taiwan independence. China hopes both sides of the Taiwan Strait can work together for the peaceful development of relations and “jointly promote the process of the peaceful reunification of the motherland”, Liu told Chu. While China insists it has no hostile intent, its military exercises and patrols around Taiwan, and in the busy South China Sea waterway, have touched a nerve in the region and in the United States.