Chinese Y-8 Military surveillance plane Found Flying Near Taiwan

A Chinese military Y-8 surveillance aircraft was spotted while flying over international waters east of Taiwan Wednesday.

The flight path of the Y-8 aircraft as over the Western Pacific Ocean, through the Miyako Strait between Japan's Miyako and Okinawa islands, and into the East China Sea east of Taiwan, the Japan ministry of defense said.

Japan scrambled a fighter jet in response to the appearance of the military surveillance aircraft.

In recent months, several Chinese military planes, including Xian H-6K bombers, have been spotted on similar routes.

On July 20, Taiwan scrambled fighter jets as a squadron of eight H-6K bombers and Y-8 aircraft flew past its east and west coasts but remained in international waters.

Again on July 25, an H-6k bomber flew close to Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ), passing through the Bashi Channel and the Miyako Strait before returning to China airspace, Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense said.

The Y-8 surveillance plane is based on the Soviet era AN-12 platform in which locally-made surveillance equipment has been installed. Although the An-12 is no longer made in Ukraine, the Chinese Y-8 continues to be upgraded and produced. An estimated 169 Y-8 aircraft had been built by 2010.