Taiwan's defense ministry on Sunday in a rare admission said that a U.S. reconnaissance aircraft and six Chinese fighter jets entered the island's air defense identification zone.
The Taiwan Defense Ministry said that on Sunday, there were a total of seven Chinese planes that entered the southwestern corner of Pratas Islands on Sunday.
Pratas Islands is a Taiwan-controlled area and has been the center of recent tensions over the entry of Chinese jets.
According to the Defense Ministry, the Chinese jets that flew near the Pratas Islands during the weekend were a Y-8 reconnaissance jet, four J-11 fighters, and two J-10 fighters.
Details about the American reconnaissance aircraft that flew in the same part of Taiwan's defense zone have not been provided. It is also the first time that the island nation reported of a U.S. plane in the area for around three months.
Taiwan has been reporting Chinese jet activity within its defense zone since mid-September but has rarely confirmed American activity near its waters or around its controlled island territories.
Taiwan's confirmation of U.S. activity near its air defense zone came as tensions continue to brew with China.
A few days earlier, U.S. President Joe Biden reaffirmed the country's support for Taiwan as the island has been reiterating that it is already an independent state and formal declarations are not necessary.
While Chinese military activity near Taiwan has raised concerns over a potential war, Chinese defense ministry spokesman Wu Qian defended the move.
Wu said recent sightings of Chinese jets patrolling the area were "necessary" to "safeguard national sovereignty and security" as well as to address security matters in the Taiwan Strait.
Finally, Wu said that "Taiwan independence means war."
The U.S. has no official ties with Taiwan, like many other countries around the world. Furthermore, only several governments recognize Taiwan's call for independence.
China has long maintained that Taiwan is its territory and has been pouring effort in reclaiming the island back.
Analysts have expressed concerns over Taiwan being a huge risk to the already volatile China-U.S. relations. While former U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs on China escalated the possibilities of a full-blown China-U.S. trade war, the new president appears to be attempting to avoid war.
The entry of a U.S. jet into Taiwanese territory has rekindled talks of how China could respond as a senior Chinese diplomat said in 2017 that an American warship's visit to the South China Sea could mean a challenge for an attack.
A November 2020 survey found that 26 percent of Taiwanese support independence, while 8 percent support unification with China. Nearly 60 percent of the survey's respondents said the decision should either be delayed or retained at an indefinite state.
