Taipei [Taiwan], May 19 (ANI): Taiwan's Ministry of National Defence (MND) on Monday detected 21 sorties of People's Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft, eight People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) vessels and three official ships near its territory.

Of the 21 aircraft, 16 crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait and entered the island's northern, southwestern, and eastern air defence identification zones (ADIZ).

'21 PLA aircraft, 8 PLAN vessels and 3 official ships operating around Taiwan were detected up until 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today. 16 out of 21 sorties crossed the median line and entered Taiwan's northern, southwestern and eastern ADIZ. We have monitored the situation and responded,' MND stated in a post on X.

https://x.com/MoNDefense/status/1924268771725787256

Earlier on Sunday, MND detected 16 sorties of People's Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft, six People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) vessels, and two official ships around the island.

13 out of the 16 aircraft crossed the Taiwan Strait median line and entered the island's northern, southwestern, and eastern (ADIZ).

'16 PLA aircraft, 6 PLAN vessels and 2 official ships operating around Taiwan were detected up until 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today. 13 out of 16 sorties crossed the median line and entered Taiwan's northern, southwestern and eastern ADIZ. We have monitored the situation and responded,' MND stated on X.

Meanwhile, on Sunday, Taiwan completed the initial operation evaluation and limited field testing of its military's new Tien Kung IV (Sky Bow IV) missiles, as reported by Taipei Times.

Citing a defence official, Taipei Times said that the Tien Kung IV missile is expected to be mass-produced from next year.

The missiles, which have been created by the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology's Strong Bow programme, are a new air defence weapon with a maximum altitude of 70km, a source told Taipei Times on condition of anonymity.

The sources cited said this marks a significant improvement over the previous Tien Kung III and the PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement systems, which have maximum altitudes of 45km and 60 km, respectively.

This latest advancement allows Tien Kung IV to intercept high-flying cruise and ballistic missiles with a higher probability of success. (ANI)