China, US step up military activities near Taiwan
By: Mike Yeo  
MELBOURNE, Australia — China and the United States have stepped up military activities near Taiwan and the South China Sea, with both sides also trading diplomatic barbs as the incoming Biden administration signals it will continue to shore up support for the self-governing island, of which China claims as part of its territory.
Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense, which publishes daily reports of Chinese air activities inside its air defense zone, reported tracking 13 and 15 military aircraft from China on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
That was a noticeable uptick in the People’s Liberation Army’s typical air activity inside Taiwan’ air defense identification zone, which usually amounts to a handful of aircraft daily. These tend to be anti-submarine or intelligence-gathering aircraft based on the Shaanxi Y-9 turboprop airlifter. However, the Chinese aircraft from the weekend were mostly combat variants in the form of Xi’an H-6K bombers as well as Chengdu J-10, Shenyang J-16 and Russian-built Sukhoi Su-30 fighter jets.
https://www.defensenews.com/global/asia-pacific/2021/01/25/china-us-step-up-military-activities-near-taiwan/
