China sends 19 aircraft on joint combat readiness patrol near Taiwan on eve of National Day

Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense said on Friday that it had detected 19 sorties of Chinese military aircraft and drones flying out over the sea from Friday morning, and that 13 of them crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait into Taiwan's northern, central and southwestern airspace.

The ministry said the aircraft coordinated with Chinese warships under what Beijing calls a joint combat readiness patrol, a label it described as a pretext for harassing the air and sea space around Taiwan. The patrol came on the eve of Taiwan's National Day on Oct. 10, the Central News Agency noted.

According to the ministry, the aircraft included J-16 and J-11 fighters, Su-30 fighters, JH-7 fighter-bombers, a KJ-500 airborne early warning and control aircraft type and Y-8 electronic warfare aircraft, along with drones. It did not give a breakdown by type or say how many Chinese warships took part.

Taiwan's armed forces used joint intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets to track the activity and dispatched aircraft and navy ships while also deploying shore-based missile systems in response, the ministry said in its afternoon statement.

Second patrol in four days

The ministry reported a similar patrol on Tuesday, Oct. 6, when it detected 14 sorties of PLA aircraft and drones, including J-11, JH-7, Su-30, KJ-500 and Y-8 electronic warfare aircraft. Nine of those crossed the median line into Taiwan's northern and central airspace. That patrol was first detected in the afternoon, and the ministry likewise said it had dispatched aircraft and naval vessels and deployed shore-based missile systems.

On Sept. 30, the day before the People's Republic of China marks its own national day, the ministry reported 21 sorties in another joint combat readiness patrol, with 15 crossing the median line, Newtalk reported at the time. That patrol involved J-10, J-11, J-16, JH-7 and Su-30 fighters as well as KJ-500 and Y-8 electronic warfare aircraft, and the ministry described the activity as grey-zone harassment that it would keep monitoring closely.

Friday's patrol came after the window covered by the ministry's routine daily report, which logged two PLA aircraft, five PLA Navy ships and two official Chinese ships around Taiwan in the 24 hours to 6 a.m. local time on Friday, with both aircraft entering Taiwan's air defence identification zone.

Taiwan News, tallying the ministry's daily reports, said Taiwan had tracked Chinese military aircraft 30 times and ships 98 times so far in October before Friday's patrol was announced.

Joint combat readiness patrols bundle fighters, early warning aircraft, electronic warfare planes and drones with naval vessels, and their recurrence around politically symbolic dates such as national days fits a pattern of pressure that Taiwan's ministry treats as grey-zone harassment rather than routine training.