China Launches Early Warning Aircraft Amid Taiwan Missile Test

Taiwan's US Patriot Missile Version, Tiangong 3 Test
Missiles Failed in April and June Launches... China Claims Routine Patrol Flights

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Jo Young-shin] Taiwanese media reported that the Chinese military conducted a show of force by deploying an early warning aircraft near Taiwan's missile test launch site.

In response, Chinese media claimed that it was merely a routine patrol flight and unrelated to Taiwan's missile test launch.

According to Taiwanese media such as Apple Daily on the 10th, Taiwan's National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology conducted a test launch of a new missile in the eastern region of Taiwan the previous day.

This missile test launch was carried out by the Taiwanese military as part of efforts to strengthen asymmetric capabilities, including submarines and special forces units.

Taiwanese media reported that during the missile test launch, a Chinese military early warning aircraft, the 'Kongjing (空警) 500,' appeared in the airspace near Jinmendao (Kinmen Island), facing Xiamen (廈門), China.

Taiwanese media also added that on the 9th, several Chinese fighter jets including SU-30 and J-11 appeared in the southwestern airspace of Taiwan's Air Defense Identification Zone.

Regarding these reports by Taiwanese media, China's state-run Global Times cited military expert Song Zhong-pil, who stated, "It was a routine patrol flight and not related to Taiwan's missile test."

The Global Times further explained that the missile tested by Taiwan was the 'Tiangong (天弓) 3' model, which is the basic version of the U.S. Patriot surface-to-air missile.

The newspaper added that the Taiwanese military had conducted two test launches of the Tiangong 3 in April and June, both of which failed. It stated that the missile does not pose a threat to the Chinese military.

Meanwhile, the Chinese military protested last month on the 26th, claiming that the U.S. deployed a high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft (U2) to conduct surveillance during a live-fire naval exercise.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.