China's air intrusions into Taiwan zone doubled in 2022

Self-ruled Taiwan lives under constant threat of invasion. Communist Party rulers claim the island as part of China's territory and have vowed to seize it one day.

Relations have been icy for years under President Xi Jinping, China's most assertive leader in a generation.

But 2022 saw a deeper deterioration, as Xi's military ramped up incursions and launched the largest war games in decades to protest against a visit by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in August.

China sent 1,727 planes into Taiwan's air defence identification zone (ADIZ) in 2022.

That compares with around 960 incursions in 2021 and 380 in 2020.

Fighter jet sorties more than doubled from 538 in 2021 to 1,241 while incursions by bombers, including the nuclear-capable H6, went from 60 to 101.

Last year also witnessed the first incursions by drones, with all 71 reported by Taiwan's military coming after Pelosi's visit.

Military analysts say China has used the incursions to probe Taiwan's defences, exhaust its ageing air force and voice displeasure over Western support for Taipei, especially the United States.