China flies nearly 40 warplanes into Taiwanese airspace in one day

In its latest acts of perceived aggression, China flew 39 aircraft – mostly war jets, say Taiwanese officials – into Taiwanese airspace on Sunday.

China has long threatened to reclaim the island nation as Chinese territory, and in 2021 ramped up its provocations, flying a record 56 warplanes in Taiwanese air in one day.

Amid Sunday’s ramp-up, according to CBS News, Taiwan “scrambled its own aircraft to broadcast warnings on Sunday and deployed air defense missile systems to track the jets that entered its zone.”

Taiwanese officials say the aerial acts of aggression are designed to “test” Taiwan’s response time and cause the island nation to scramble its aircraft and bring them back repeatedly. According to Al Jazeera, China has said the military moves were simply drills “aimed at protecting the country’s sovereignty.”

It is unclear what prompted the Sunday onslaught of military flights by China, but Taiwan says prior to Sunday, China had already flown over 70 warplanes in 17 days into Taiwanese airspace.