Taiwan spent nearly $ 900 million to dispatch fighter jets to intercept Chinese planes

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The head of the Taiwan Defense Agency said Taiwan spent about NT $ 25.5 billion ($ 887 million) this year in the deployment of fighter jets to prevent Chinese military aircraft from approaching the territory.

According to Reuters on 8 October, Mr. Nghiem Duc Phat, head of the Taiwan Defense Agency, told the Taiwanese parliament that since the beginning of the year, Taiwanese fighters have launched 2,972 times to intercept military aircraft. China's close proximity to this territory .

According to Mr. Nghiem, the cost for the above sorties cost 25.5 billion NTD. He also admits the pressure from China that Taiwan is facing is "very great".

The leader of the Taiwan Defense Agency further explained that the 4,132 number of Taiwan fighter sorties this year recorded in the parliament report included regular training and patrols.

Nghiem also said the Taiwanese forces will conduct the exercises this month off the southwestern coast of Taiwan, but this is not real bullet shooting.

China has always viewed Taiwan as an inseparable territory and is ready to use force to merge if necessary.

In recent months, Beijing has exerted unusual military pressure on Taiwan, increasing the number of naval ships, bombers and fighter jets to patrol and train around Taiwan . Chinese fighters many times flew into the air defense identification area (ADIZ) of Taiwan.

Analysts say that China's campaign is to continue to put pressure on the "aging" weapons of Taiwan.

In the face of pressure moves from China, Taiwan is working to upgrade its fighter squadron . The US last year passed a $ 8 billion contract to sell 66 new F-16s to Taiwan, bringing the total number of Taiwanese F-16s to more than 200.