Largest Incursion into Taiwan's ADIZ Since January

On 30 May 2022, Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense reported that 30 Chinese military aircraft entered the southwestern sector of the island's air defence identification zone (ADIZ), roughly two-thirds of them fighter jets. The Guardian and other outlets described it as Taiwan's largest single-day incursion since 23 January 2022, when Beijing flew 39 aircraft into the same zone.

According to the figures released by Taiwan's defence ministry and reported by Taiwan News and Focus Taiwan, the sortie comprised eight J-11, six J-16 and four J-10 fighters, plus two Su-35 and two Su-30 fighters, alongside two KJ-500 airborne early-warning and control aircraft and four Y-8 electronic-intelligence, one Y-8 electronic-warfare and one Y-8 anti-submarine aircraft. The appearance of the Su-35 was widely noted as its first recorded flight into Taiwan's ADIZ. In response, Taiwan scrambled combat air patrol aircraft, issued radio warnings and deployed air-defence missile systems to track the Chinese planes.

The incursion coincided with the arrival of a US congressional delegation led by Senator Tammy Duckworth, part of a broader 2022 surge in PLA activity around Taiwan. An ADIZ is a self-declared monitoring zone and is distinct from sovereign airspace, so the flights, while provocative, did not constitute a breach of Taiwan's territorial airspace.

This was an overt, openly attributed show of force by China's military rather than a covert operation, consistent with Beijing's pattern of escalating ADIZ pressure on Taiwan through 2022. The scale, the diverse fighter and support mix, and the timing alongside a US delegation visit point to a coercive signalling intent. The debut of the Su-35 in the zone suggested an incremental broadening of PLA capabilities on display. Because an ADIZ is not sovereign airspace, the flights were a demonstration of reach and resolve rather than a direct territorial violation, but they reinforced sustained pressure on Taiwan's air defences.