TAIWAN SAYS CHINESE FIGHTERS, U.S. AIRCRAFT ENTERED ITS DEFENSE ZONE

Six Chinese fighter aircraft and a US reconnaissance aircraft entered the southwestern corner of Taiwan's air defense identification zone on Sunday, the island's defense ministry said, in an unusual admission of US military activity

Tensions have spiked over the last week or so after Taiwan reported multiple Chinese fighters and bombers flying into the zone last weekend, in an area close to the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Islands in the northern part of the South China Sea (SCS), Reuters reported.

The Chinese missions coincided with a US aircraft carrier group entering the SCS for what the US military termed a routine deployment.

The US has criticized the Chinese flights. Taiwan's Defense Ministry said a total of seven Chinese aircraft flew into the same waters near the Pratas Islands on Sunday - two J-10 fighters, four J-11 fighters and a Y-8 reconnaissance aircraft.

It added that a US reconnaissance aircraft was also present in the same southwestern part of the defense zone, but neither named the aircraft type nor provided details of its flight path, which it does for all Chinese flights.

The flight came as China conducted naval drills and simulated an attack on a US aircraft carrier that Washington has slammed

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