Taipei/BEIJING (EAT) – Taiwan has reportedly shot-down a Chinese Air Force, Russian-made Su-35 aircraft that supposedly violated its airspace. Multiple videos circulating on social media show a jet, allegedly a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) Su-35, immersed in smoke.
According to another unconfirmed and trending social media reports, the Su-35 jet crashed in Guangxi, an autonomous coastal region in southern China, bordering Vietnam, after reportedly “intruding” into the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea.
Unconfirmed reports A Chinese SU-35 Jet fighter either shot down or crashed In Taiwan. No Official statements as yet .Could be a very serious developement, Large Navy and Air force flotillas exercising in that region. An accidental clash could spark off conflict pic.twitter.com/NAQEZAHv7q
— Maj Gen (Dr)GD Bakshi SM,VSM(retd) (@GeneralBakshi) September 4, 2020
However, many users have flagged the report calling it false while some said that the fighter jet crashed due to technical glitch. There is no official statement either from Mainland China or Taiwan.
Journalist Nicola Smith Asia correspondent at The Daily Telegraph tweeted – Lots of speculation coming from Indian Twitter accounts claiming that #Taiwan shot down a PLA jet. Taiwan’s Ministry of defense has responded categorically that this is fake news.
Lots of speculation coming from Indian Twitter accounts claiming that #Taiwan shot down a PLA jet. Taiwan's ministry of defence has responded categorically that this is fake news.
— Nicola Smith (@niccijsmith) September 4, 2020
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#最新消息，侵擾飛越台海和南海的中共解放軍蘇愷35戰機廣西墜毀飛行員重傷 有視頻為證 pic.twitter.com/N3SEDsnl2E
— Cheng Kaifu (@Taihoku1895) September 4, 2020
— Cheng Kaifu (@Taihoku1895) September 4, 2020
Earlier, China has warned the United States that it may be forced to strike the first blow over the latter’s increased presence in Taiwan.
This is according to a report published by Chinese Military expert, Yang Sheng, who said that experts in China believe that “Washington is provoking Beijing to fire the first shot, and that the current tensions could further escalate”, following local reports suggesting that a US military aircraft took off from a Taiwan-based airfield on its flight to Japan. However, Taiwan’s Air Force Command was quick to rubbish such reports.
Yang, who writes for Global Times hinted that the Chinese military experts believe that Taiwanese officials’ instantaneous rejection is proof that such attempts can provoke China to open fire. Yang wrote – “That’s why Taiwan military officials have to deny the incident as they know how serious this could get if US military aircraft really landed on the island.”