CHINESE FIGHTER AIRCRAFT RAISING TENSIONS

TAIPEI Six Chinese fighter aircraft and a U.S. reconnaissance aircraft entered the southwestern corner of Taiwan’s air defence identification zone Sunday, the island’s defence ministry said, in an unusual admission of U.S. military activity.

Tensions have spiked over the last week or so after Taiwan reported multiple Chinese fighters and bombers flying into the zone last weekend, in an area close to the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Islands in the northern part of the South China Sea.

The Chinese missions coincided with a U.S. aircraft carrier group entering the South China Sea for what the U.S. military termed a routine deployment.

The U.S. has criticized the Chinese flights.

Taiwan’s Defence Ministry said a total of seven Chinese aircraft flew into the same waters near the Pratas Islands on Sunday.

It added that a U.S. reconnaissance aircraft was also present in the same southwestern part of the defence zone.

It was the first time Taiwan had mentioned the presence of a U.S. aircraft since it began near daily reports of Chinese activity in its defence zone in mid-september. Taiwan rarely speaks publicly about U.S. activity near it.

The U.S., like most countries, has no official diplomatic ties with Chinese-claimed Taiwan, but is the island’s most important international backer and supplier of weapons.