Mainland Fighters Buzz Taiwan's Air Zone

Taiwan's air force scrambled on Friday after eight Chinese fighter aircraft flew into the southwestern part of its air defence zone in another display of stepped-up military activity around the island.

Beijing said it is responding to what it calls "collusion" between Taipei and Washington, Taiwan's main international backer and weapons supplier.

The Taiwanese Defence Ministry said four mainland J-16s and four JH-7s as well as an electronic warfare aircraft flew near the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Islands in the top part of the South China Sea.

The air force scrambled, with "radio warnings issued and air defence missile systems deployed to monitor the activity," the ministry said.

Mainland aircraft fly in the southwestern corner of the zone on an almost daily basis, though the last such large-scale incursion was on January 24 when 12 Chinese fighters were involved. There was no immediate comment from Beijing.

Shortly before the ministry's statement, Taiwan announced a reshuffle of senior security officials including a new, US-trained defence minister, to help bolster military modernisation and intelligence efforts.

President Tsai Ing-wen has pledged to defend the island and has made modernising its armed forces a priority, including developing a fleet of new submarines, buying new F-16 fighters from the United States and upgrading its warships.

National Security Bureau Director-General Chiu Kuo-cheng, who graduated from the US Army War College in 1999, would replace Yen De-fa as defence minister, Presidential Office spokesman Xavier Chang told reporters.

The president expected Chiu to complete the next stage of military reforms, including planning for "asymmetric warfare", focusing on high-tech, mobile weapons designed to make any Chinese attack as difficult as possible, Chang said.

Chiu's old job as intelligence chief will be taken by Taiwan's top China policy-maker, Chen Ming-tong, now head of the Mainland Affairs Council.

"The most important task of the National Security Bureau is to understand and have a grasp on China," Chang said.

They will take up their posts next week. (Reuters)