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| Anger over Taiwan's failure to intercept Russian plane |
| 25-MAR-2010 Intellasia | AFP |
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| 25 Mar, 2010 - 7:06:00 AM |
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Taiwan said Tuesday a Russian bomber entered its airspace in January, amid anger that its air force did not intercept the plane, which could have dropped tonnes of explosives on the island.
Taiwanese radars detected the aircraft, a Tupolev TU-95 long-range strategic bomber, 285 kilometres (180 miles) off the island's northeast coast early in the afternoon of January 28, the air force said.
"It briefly entered our airspace," air force major general Wang Hsuan-chou told reporters.
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| A Russian Tu-95 bomber is pictured in this file photo. Taiwan said Tuesday a similar Russian bomber entered its airspace in January, amid anger that its air force did not intercept the plane, which could have dropped tonnes of explosives on the island.
(AFPScanpix/File/Norwegian Airforce) |
"Our judgment was that since the unidentified aircraft was harmless, we handled the incident according to the standard operation procedure. We demanded the aircraft leave immediately."
The aircraft turned away and flew in the direction of Okinawa, a Japanese island northeast of Taiwan, he said.
He declined to say why the air force considered the Russian plane, capable of loading 15 tonnes of bombs, harmless.
The air force reaction immediately fuelled criticism from legislators wondering why it had failed to send fighters to intercept the Russian intruder.
Maintaining a high level of alert is one of the Taiwanese military's top responsibilities, as the island is only a few minutes' flying time away from old arch rival China.
China considers Taiwan part of its territory, and despite a recent thaw in relations, it has not given up the use of force to bring about reunification with the island.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100323/wl_asia_afp/taiwanrussiamilitary_20100323053601
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