China’s new J-16D fighter jet has been deployed to an eastern airbase near Taiwan

China’s military has deployed its new J-16D fighter jet designed for electronic warfare to an eastern airbase near Taiwan, according to satellite imagery and a People’s Liberation Army source.

It comes amid heightened tensions across the Taiwan Strait, with a record number of PLA warplanes sent into the island’s air defence identification zone in recent days as Beijing ramps up its campaign of military intimidation. Beijing claims self-ruled Taiwan as its own territory, to be brought under its control by force if necessary, and the PLA has sent planes into the island’s air defence zone nearly every day in the past year.