Taiwan Jets Scramble as China Air Force Enters Air Defense Zone

Chinese and Taiwanese national flags are displayed alongside a military airplane in this illustration taken April 9, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
Chinese and Taiwanese national flags are displayed alongside a military airplane in this illustration taken April 9, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
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Taiwan Jets Scramble as China Air Force Enters Air Defense Zone

Chinese and Taiwanese national flags are displayed alongside a military airplane in this illustration taken April 9, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
Chinese and Taiwanese national flags are displayed alongside a military airplane in this illustration taken April 9, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

Taiwan's air force scrambled on Friday to warn away 18 Chinese aircraft that entered its air defense zone, Taiwan's defense ministry said, part of what is a regular pattern of incursions that has angered the government in Taipei.

Taiwan, claimed by China as its own territory, has complained of repeated such missions by Chinese aircraft, which have become a common occurrence over the past two years or so, Reuters said.

Taiwan is currently in a heightened state of alert due to fears China could use Russia's invasion of Ukraine to make a similar military move on the island, though Taipei's government has not reported any signs Beijing is about to attack.

The number of aircraft involved was well off the last large-scale incursion, 39 Chinese aircraft on Jan. 23, and since then, such fly-bys have been with far fewer aircraft.

The ministry said the latest mission included six Chinese J-11 and six J-16 fighters as well as two H-6 bombers.

There was no immediate comment from China's Defense Ministry. China has described previous such missions as to defend the country's sovereignty and to counter "collusion" with foreign forces - a veiled reference to US support for Taiwan.

The bombers, accompanied by a Y-8 anti-submarine aircraft, flew to the south of Taiwan through the Bashi Channel which separates the island from the Philippines.

The other aircraft flew over an area to the northeast of the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Islands at the top end of the South China Sea, according to a ministry map.

Taiwanese fighters were sent up to warn the Chinese aircraft and air defense missiles were deployed to "monitor the activities", the ministry said, using standard wording for how Taiwan describes its response.

No shots have been fired and the Chinese aircraft have not been flying in Taiwan's air space, but in its Air Defense Identification Zone, a broader area Taiwan monitors and patrols that acts to give it more time to respond to any threats.

Japan this week reported eight Chinese naval vessels, including an aircraft carrier, passed between islands in Japan's southern Okinawa chain, to the northeast of Taiwan.

China has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control, and the Taiwan Strait remains a potentially dangerous military flashpoint.



Ukraine, US in 'Final Stages' of Agreeing Minerals Deal, Kyiv Says 

In this handout photograph taken and released by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Service on February 24, 2025, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy attends a meeting with the Western nations' leaders in Kyiv, to mark the third anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Handout / Ukrainian Presidential Press Service / AFP)
In this handout photograph taken and released by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Service on February 24, 2025, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy attends a meeting with the Western nations' leaders in Kyiv, to mark the third anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Handout / Ukrainian Presidential Press Service / AFP)
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Ukraine, US in 'Final Stages' of Agreeing Minerals Deal, Kyiv Says 

In this handout photograph taken and released by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Service on February 24, 2025, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy attends a meeting with the Western nations' leaders in Kyiv, to mark the third anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Handout / Ukrainian Presidential Press Service / AFP)
In this handout photograph taken and released by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Service on February 24, 2025, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy attends a meeting with the Western nations' leaders in Kyiv, to mark the third anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Handout / Ukrainian Presidential Press Service / AFP)

Ukraine and the United States are in the final stages of negotiating a minerals deal considered central to ending Russia's three-year-old war in Ukraine, a senior Ukrainian official said on Monday.

Kyiv and Washington are both interested in US access to Ukraine's undersoil riches, but President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said any such deal must involve concrete security guarantees.

"Ukrainian and US teams are in the final stages of negotiations regarding the minerals agreement. The negotiations have been very constructive, with nearly all key details finalized," deputy prime minister Olha Stefanishyna wrote on X.

"We hope both US and UA leaders might sign and endorse it in Washington (at) the soonest to showcase our commitment for decades to come."

Trump has said Ukraine should give the US $500 billion in critical raw materials as payback for aid which Kyiv has already received from the previous Joe Biden administration.

Zelenskiy said this week Washington had supplied his country with $67 billion in weapons and $31.5 billion in direct budget support, and that he will not acknowledge Biden-supplied aid as loan.

Zelenskiy refused to sign an initial draft deal earlier this month, sparking frustration in the White House. Senior Trump administration officials said on Sunday they expected an agreement would be signed this week.