By Zoila Palma: A Chinese fighter jet fired decoy flares at a Taiwanese aircraft during the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) largest-ever military drills around Taiwan in December, it has been revealed.
The incident occurred when a Chinese F-16 fired flares at a Taiwanese F-16 that had scrambled as the Chinese jet approached Taiwan’s median line in the Taiwan Strait. The episode was described in a Taiwanese defence ministry report that was later shared with the United States military.
Another close encounter also took place during the drills when a Chinese J-16 flew extremely close behind a Taiwanese F-16, “basically firing in position,” the Telegraph reports.
China also used a “piggybacking” tactic, flying one of its J-16 jets beneath a Chinese H-6K bomber to avoid radar detection. When discovered, a Chinese pilot reportedly rolled his aircraft sideways and revealed missiles mounted under the plane.
The military exercises, known as “Justice Mission,” lasted 24 hours in late December. Taiwan’s defence ministry said it detected 130 Chinese aircraft around the island, with 90 crossing the median line.
The manoeuvre has been compared to previous incidents, including when a PLA aircraft locked radar onto Japanese jets earlier in December and when Chinese aircraft fired flares at a Philippine patrol plane in the South China Sea.