Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Friday, Aug 08, 2025

China's high-tech warplanes pose 'big new threat' to Taiwan

China's high-tech warplanes pose 'big new threat' to Taiwan

China's deployment of J-16D jets into Taiwan's air defence zone this week marked the first sighting of the new high-tech warplanes, Taipei confirmed Tuesday, their electronic-jamming equipment posing a fresh threat to the island.
Taiwan lives under the constant spectre of invasion by China, which sees the self-ruled, democratic island as part of its territory to eventually be reclaimed -- by force if necessary.

The final quarter of 2021 saw a massive spike of Chinese incursions into Taiwan's air defence identification zone (ADIZ), with the biggest single day coming on Oct 4, when 56 warplanes entered the zone.

Sunday and Monday saw a dramatic show of force as well, with 52 warplanes entering the zone over the two days, according to the island's defence ministry.

Among the 13 observed on Monday were two J-16D jets, which the ministry confirmed Tuesday to AFP was the first time the high-tech warplanes had been seen in action.

The new jets were first unveiled at an airshow in China in September, Chinese state-run media Global Times reported.

The J-16D comes with four jamming pods and two electronic warfare pods as well as two missiles under the jet's belly, it said.

"It is capable of destroying radar to suppress and damage the enemy's aerial defence capabilities," Shu Hsiao-huang, an analyst at Taiwan's Institute for National Defence and Security Research, told AFP.

These radar-jamming capabilities could "pave the way for subsequent attacks", he added.

"It poses a big new threat to Taiwan's air defence."

The Global Times published a sabre-rattling editorial Tuesday, calling the appearance of the J-16D fighters a "self-evident" message.

"PLA (The People's Liberation Army) warplanes will not only fly around Taiwan island, they could also... sooner or later fly over the island," the editorial warned.

The two-day rash of incursions came on the heels of the United States and Japan carrying out naval exercises in the Philippine Sea last week, an area that includes waters just east of Taiwan.

Taiwan only started regularly publicising its data on air incursions in September 2020.

October remains the busiest month on record, with 196 forays into the defence zone, which extends well beyond Taiwan's territorial airspace, overlapping with parts of China's ADIZ.

Sunday's 39 warplanes -- the majority of them J-16 fighters -- is tied with Oct 2 as the second-highest recorded number of incursions in a single day.

Beijing has ramped up pressure on Taiwan since Tsai Ing-wen was elected president in 2016, as she considers the island a sovereign nation and not part of "one China".

Last year, Taiwan recorded 969 incursions by Chinese warplanes, according to a database compiled by AFP -- more than double the roughly 380 carried out in 2020.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Nine people have been hospitalized and dozens of salmonella cases have been reported after an outbreak of infections linked to certain brands of pistachios and pistachio-containing products, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
Tariffs, AI, and the Shifting U.S. Macro Landscape: Navigating a New Economic Regime
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
OpenAI’s Bold Bet: Teaching AI to Think, Not Just Chat
BP’s Largest Oil and Gas Find in 25 Years Uncovered Offshore Brazil
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Germany’s Economic Breakdown and the Return of Militarization: From Industrial Collapse to a New Offensive Strategy
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Russia Formally Recognizes Taliban Government in Afghanistan
Mediators Edge Closer to Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Agreement
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
Amazon Reaches Major Automation Milestone with Over One Million Robots
Meta Announces Formation of Ambitious AI Unit, Meta Superintelligence Labs
China Unveils Miniature Insect-Like Surveillance Drone
Marc Marquez Claims Victory at Dutch Grand Prix Amidst Family Misfortune
Iran Executes Alleged Israeli Spies and Arrests Hundreds Amid Post-War Crackdown
Trump Asserts Readiness for Further Strikes on Iran Amid Nuclear Tensions
Iran's Parliament Votes to Suspend Cooperation with Nuclear Watchdog
Trump Announces Upcoming US-Iran Meeting Amid Controversial Airstrikes
Trump Moves to Reshape Middle East Following Israel-Iran Conflict
NATO Leaders Endorse Plan for Increased Defence Spending
U.S. Crude Oil Prices Drop Below $65 Amid Market Volatility
Explosions Rock Doha as Iranian Missiles Target Qatar
“You Have 12 Hours to Flee”: Israeli Threat Campaign Targets Surviving Iranian Officials
Oman Set to Introduce Personal Income Tax, First in Gulf
×