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Taiwan detects 22 Chinese aircraft approaching island

According to the Defense Ministry, eleven aircraft crossed "the median line" of the Taiwan Strait and entered the air defense identification zone in the central, northern and southwestern areas of the island

HONG KONG, January 31. /TASS/. Taiwan’s Armed Forces have spotted 22 Chinese aircraft flying toward the island, the Defense Ministry said.

"Today at 12:48 p.m. local time, 22 PLA (China’s People’s Liberation Army - TASS) aircraft were detected, including J-10 fighter jets, Y-8 aircraft, and unmanned aerial vehicles," the ministry said in a statement on its website.

It was reported that eleven aircraft had crossed "the median line" of the Taiwan Strait and entered the air defense identification zone in the central, northern and southwestern areas of the island.

Taiwan has been governed by its own administration since 1949, when the remnants of the Kuomintang forces under Chiang Kai-shek (1887-1975) fled to the island after being defeated in the Chinese civil war. Beijing considers Taiwan to be a province of the People’s Republic of China.

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