Taiwan warned away nine Chinese aircraft that entered its air defense zone Thursday, scrambling its air force on the same day that Russia launched an invasion of Ukraine, the island nation's defense ministry said.
Eight Chinese J-16 fighters and one Y-8 reconnaissance aircraft breached the air space, the ministry said, and Taiwanese fighters and air defense missiles were deployed to warn the Chinese aircraft.
Taiwan, which China claims as its own, has been closely monitoring the Ukrainian crisis, anxious that China may try to take advantage of the situation, Reuters reports.
While the government has not noticed any unusual movements by Chinese forces, it has increased its alert level.
Such missions by the Chinese air force have been regular occurrences over the past two years, though the number of aircraft involved in Thursday's incursion was significantly less than on Jan. 23, when 39 Chinese aircraft breached Taiwanese air space.
President Joe Biden's administration pledged to commit more resources to the region, in the 12-page Indo-Pacific strategy review, issued earlier this month.
Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Tan Kefei emphasized that Taiwan was a "core issue" of China's and it would not tolerate foreign interference.
"We urge the U.S. side to recognize the high sensitivity of the Taiwan issue, stop interfering in China's internal affairs and stop playing with fire on the Taiwan issue," Tan told Reuters.
According to The Washington Post, Ming Jinwei, senior editor at Xinhua News Agency, wrote in his WeChat blog about how his outlet needed to walk a fine line on its coverage of the situation in Ukraine, saying that China "has to back Russia up with emotional and moral support while refraining from treading on the toes of the United States and European Union."
"In the future, China will also need Russia's understanding and support when wrestling with America to solve the Taiwan issue once and for all," his post read. Ming added that it "doesn't hurt" to use relatively pro-Russia language.
Additionally, on Wednesday, Horizon News, a social media account belonging to CCP-owned Beijing News, seemed to inadvertently post instructions for Chinese media coverage of Ukraine, in a post that was later deleted. The instructions specified that no posts unfavorable to Russia or with pro-Western content should be published, according to The Washington Post.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.