Thinking About China
Opinion

China Sends Its Air Force Toward Taiwan: War on the Horizon or a Tempest in a Teapot?

China Sends Its Air Force Toward Taiwan: War on the Horizon or a Tempest in a Teapot?
A Taiwanese Air Force F-16 in foreground flies on the flank of a Chinese People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) H-6 bomber as it passes near Taiwan on Feb. 10, 2020. (Republic of China (ROC) Ministry of National Defense via AP)
Grant Newsham
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Commentary

Over the last week or so, Beijing sent about 150 military aircraft—bombers, fighters, reconnaissance, and anti-submarine planes—through Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ). An ADIZ is not legally Taiwan’s territory, but Taipei does claim authority to monitor and control what flies through it.

Grant Newsham
Grant Newsham
Author
Grant Newsham is a retired U.S. Marine officer and a former U.S. diplomat and business executive with many years in the Asia/Pacific region. He is a senior fellow with the Japan Forum for Strategic Studies (Tokyo) and Center for Security Policy and the Yorktown Institute in Washington, D.C. He is the author of the best selling book “When China Attacks: A Warning to America.”
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