Taiwan To Provide Emergency Assistance To Chinese Military Planes

Taiwan has given permission for the Chinese military aircraft to land on its air defense zone in case of mechanical failures based on humanitarian grounds.

"Because the two sides of the Taiwan Strait are not at war at present, we should accept them out of humanitarian concerns," Defense Minister Feng Shih-kuan said at a Foreign and National Defense Committee hearing at the Legislative Yuan on Monday, Focus Taiwan news channel reports.

However, the aircraft will be asked to leave immediately after repair, Feng said.

The Chinese jets flew north to south and entered the Miyako Strait around Japan's southern islands as well as the Bashi Channel south of Taiwan, but did not enter Taiwan's air defence identification zone, Taiwan's defence ministry said in a statement.

The four aircraft that passed outside the zone in southern Taiwan were part of a fleet of 10 from the Eastern Theater Command of the People's Liberation Army Air Force that was on a long-distance training mission.