There is a change in the skies and waters around Taiwan. In the first half of this year, the number of People’s Liberation Army (PLA) fighter jets detected near the island more than halved year on year to 1,334. It was a three-year low and marked the lowest operational tempo since 2023, according to a tally by the South China Morning Post based on data from Taiwan’s defence ministry. At the same time, the number of days no PLA jets were detected by Taiwan hit a new high, and the PLA did not...
A London-bound Cathay Pacific Airways flight failed to establish contact over Romanian airspace at one stage on Saturday, prompting Hungarian fighter jets to respond to a Nato alert and intercept the flight. Cathay Pacific said on Wednesday that the incident was under investigation. It added that the safety of the aircraft or people on board was not compromised at any point. The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation activated a “quick reaction alert” after the Airbus A350-1000 temporarily failed to...
Recent People’s Liberation Army exercises showed that China’s older aircraft carriers could operate more closely in tandem with the more advanced Fujian than previously thought, experts say, as fighter jets upgraded to use electromagnetic catapults were spotted on the older Liaoning carrier. Images taken during a 40-day mission in the South China Sea and Pacific Ocean that ended on June 22 showed multiple J-15T jets taking off from, and landing on, the Liaoning. China currently operates three...