Gangster-Style Gun-Waving? PLA Jets Carry Out Extremely Dangerous Provocations Against Taiwan’s F-16 Fighters

Taiwan Air Force Mirage 2000 fighter jet approaches Hsinchu Air Base

[People News] The situation in the Taiwan Strait is entering an extremely dangerous and unpredictable new phase. According to the Financial Times, citing informed sources and the latest report Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense provided to the United States, during an unannounced PLA exercise encircling Taiwan on December 29 last year, Chinese military aircraft carried out multiple “extremely dangerous” and “unprofessional” provocative maneuvers against Taiwan’s F-16 fighter jets, including the firing of flares and close-range intimidation. On February 9, the U.S. House of Representatives passed what has been dubbed a “financial nuclear weapon” — the Taiwan Protection Act — in an effort to deter Beijing’s military ambitions through economic means.

According to the disclosed information, at least three high-risk incidents during the late-December drills have drawn serious concern from the international security community.

The first incident occurred when Taiwanese F-16s scrambled to intercept PLA aircraft that had crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait. A Chinese J-16 fighter reportedly fired flares directly toward the Taiwanese aircraft. Military experts note that in modern military aviation, firing flares at close range toward another country’s aircraft is considered even more dangerous than radar lock-on, and is widely seen as an unsafe and aggressive act.

The second incident was even more alarming. A J-16 closely tailed a Taiwanese F-16 at a distance that placed it within direct firing range. This posture went far beyond a warning maneuver and was seen as an unmistakable act of intimidation.

The third incident occurred in airspace northwest of Taiwan. PLA forces reportedly employed a so-called “masked escort” tactic, with a J-16 flying close beneath an H-6K bomber in an apparent attempt to use the bomber’s larger radar signature to evade detection. After being exposed, the Chinese pilot allegedly rolled the aircraft sideways to deliberately display missiles mounted under the fuselage.

One insider described the behavior as less like that of professional soldiers and more like “gangsters swaggering down the street while brandishing guns.”

Why has the PLA behaved in such a “thuggish” manner? U.S. Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo warned that these exercises should be viewed as rehearsals for an invasion of Taiwan. Bonnie Glaser of the German Marshall Fund noted that the PLA is becoming increasingly bold and may in the future intrude into Taiwan’s 12-nautical-mile territorial airspace — a move that would significantly increase the risk of an accidental clash.

There are also indications that Xi Jinping’s ongoing purges of senior military leaders — including the recent appointment of General Yang Zhibin as Eastern Theater Commander just two weeks before the exercises — may have destabilized the chain of command. Under such political pressure, frontline pilots may be pushed to carry out risky maneuvers beyond their training limits to demonstrate their “capability to seize Taiwan.” This atmosphere, where “political loyalty outweighs military professionalism,” is pushing the Taiwan Strait ever closer to the brink of conflict.