A US military reconnaissance plane was exposed to fly over northern Taiwan. US media: It has been confirmed by the US military that this is extremely unusual!

 On 21st, an aircraft tracking platform broke the news that a US military reconnaissance plane flew over northern Taiwan. In response to this news, the US media claimed that it was confirmed by the US Air Force that there was indeed an RC-135W "Joint Rivet" reconnaissance plane flying over northern Taiwan, which was "extremely unusual."

According to a report in the "War Zone" column of The Drive website on October 22, the U.S. Air Force confirmed that an RC-135W "Joint Rivet" reconnaissance plane conducted an "extremely unusual" flight over northern Taiwan earlier this week. This is part of the intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions performed by the aircraft.

US Air Force RC-135W Electronic Reconnaissance Aircraft

According to the report, a public affairs official of the US Pacific Air Force said in a statement on October 21: "What I can confirm is that an RC-135W reconnaissance aircraft did fly over Taiwan yesterday (October 20). Over the north, this is part of its regular mission.” “For operational safety reasons, I cannot provide more details about this mission.”

Earlier in the day, some aircraft tracking platforms first noticed the activities of the RC-135W reconnaissance aircraft. Although tracking data is limited, it shows that the aircraft once flew directly over Taipei. The aircraft tracking platform also showed that the code of this RC-135W reconnaissance aircraft was 62-4134. On October 19, the reconnaissance plane was also spotted flying over the Bashi Channel with the US Navy's EP-3E electronic reconnaissance plane.

The report also mentioned that although it is unusual for a US military plane to fly over Taiwan, this is not the first time a US military plane flies directly over Taiwan this year. In August of this year, data from the aircraft tracking platform showed that a US Navy EP-3E reconnaissance aircraft flew over Taipei on a similar route. In June of this year, a U.S. Navy C-40 aircraft also flew over Taiwan.

The trajectory map of the suspected US military EP-3E reconnaissance aircraft flying over Taiwan released by the "South China Sea Strategic Situational Awareness" program platform on August 14

Before the US military officials admitted that the US reconnaissance plane flew over northern Taiwan to an unprecedented level, the Taiwan authorities denied the news, saying "this is false information and not a fact."

Taiwan’s pro-green media reported on October 21, citing news from the Twitter "Golf9" tracking navigation that the U.S. military RC-135W reconnaissance plane was suspected of flying over Taipei that morning, and the aviation observation account "Tokyo Radar" also released the same information. It means that RC-135W is tracking over Taiwan. The account will continue to track the dynamics and confirm whether the message is correct. In this regard, the "Freedom Times" also issued a question "Really?"

The flight track of a suspected U.S. military RC-135W reconnaissance aircraft released by the aircraft tracking platform over northern Taiwan

In response to this news in the afternoon, Taiwan’s “Air Force Command” issued a press release to refute, saying, “This is false information, not a fact.” The press release also emphasized that the Taiwan Air Force uses joint intelligence and reconnaissance methods for the conditions of the maritime and airspace around the Taiwan Strait. Able to grasp closely and respond appropriately.

Mainland military expert Song Zhongping said on the 21st about the incident: "If the US military sends a military plane to fly over Taiwan's airspace, it will be a provocation to both sides of the strait, leading to further deterioration of cross-strait relations. Therefore, the Taiwan military must give the people on the island a pill. Reassured, on the one hand it shows that the United States as an ally has not made provocative actions, on the other hand it also shows that Taiwan’s military air defense system and early warning system have good monitoring capabilities.

Song Zhongping believes that Taiwan is very close to mainland China. The mainland will know whether US military planes fly over Taiwan, and the Taiwan authorities do not need to explain. "If American aircraft, whether military or civilian, fly over Taiwan's airspace without notification, this is a violation of China's airspace. The mainland will inevitably issue a strong warning and implement certain countermeasures."

Regarding the flying behavior of US military aircraft in Taiwan’s airspace, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying once stated that the US's move seriously violated international law and basic norms of international relations. China firmly opposes this and strongly condemns it. China urges the US to abide by the one-China principle and the provisions of the three Sino-US joint communiqués and immediately stop such illegal and provocative acts. China will take all necessary measures to resolutely safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests.