China expands air and sea presence

China is sending an increasing number of military flights into Taiwan’s Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ) and has established a continuous naval presence in the disputed Senkaku Islands


CHINA

Chinese fleet HQ 
U.S. navy base

Ningbo
East China Sea
JAPAN

Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands: China has deployed at least one destroyer or missile corvette over past year

Ryukyu/Nansei Islands (JPN)

Okinawa
Miyako Strait
PACIFIC OCEAN

Taiwan ADIZ
Taipei
Hualien
TAIWAN
Median line

In event of attack from west Taiwan plans to sail fleet to western Pacific and shelter fighter aircraft in mountain tunnels at Hualien

Pratas Island, Jan 23: 34 Chinese fighter jets, 4 electronic warfare aircraft, 1 bomber

160km 100 miles


CHINESE WARPLANES IN TAIWAN AIR DEFENCE ID ZONE 2021
JAN 80
FEB 
MAR 
APR 107
MAY 
JUN 
JUL 
AUG 
SEP 
OCT 195
NOV
DEC
0 50 100 150

People’s Liberation Army Air Force J-16D: Multirole combat fighter


Sources: Ministry of Defence (Taiwan), Bloomberg, Al Jazeera, Financial Times
© GRAPHIC NEWS