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An RC-135W Rivet Joint spy plane is said to have entered the airspace of northern Taiwan on Wednesday as part of an intelligence and surveillance mission. The US Air Force confirmed this in a statement, before issuing a retraction.
But planespotters claim to have seen a spycraft in the sky early on Friday, according to Taiwan News.
Twitter flight tracking accounts Tokyo Radar reported the plane, also known as a Rivet Joint, had flown at an altitude of 31,500 feet above central Taipei.
Media reports on the island also claim the RC-135W did enter the island’s Air Defense Identification Zone.
The Rivet Joint is one of the US Military’s most sophisticated intelligence-gathering platforms.
It operates with 24 intelligence analysts on a typical mission who intercept enemy communications and analyse data about air defences.
According to The Eurasian Times, flight tracking software had also revealed the presence of a US Navy EP-3E Aries II intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance plane above the Bashi Channel, in the south of Taiwan, on October 19th.
The Bashi Channel links the Philippine Sea and the South China Sea.
A spokesman for Pacific Air Forces (PACAF), the top Air Force command for operations in the Pacific region, said: “I can confirm that a RC 135W Rivet Joint aircraft did fly over the northern portion of Taiwan yesterday as part of a routine mission.
“Due to operational security we are not able to discuss the specifics of the mission.”
But Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Tony Wickman, the director of public affairs for PACAF, later said: “My staff responded to your query regarding an RC-135 flight and I must inform you that what we gave you was incorrect.
“I would like to correct the record by stating we did not have any US aircraft in that area on the date and time in question.
“I apologise for passing bad information to you as you attempted to provide accurate information to your readers.”
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The reports follow threats of retaliation from China on Thursday after the latest US arms sale to Chinese-claimed Taiwan.
Taiwan welcomed the weapons package but said it was not looking to enter an arms race with Beijing.
The estimated $1.8billion US arms package, comprised of three major deals with the island includes sensors, artillery and missiles capable of reaching the mainland.
Drones and land-based Harpoon anti-ship missiles made by Boeing Co to serve as coastal defence cruise missiles are also anticipated parts of the deal.
Speaking on Friday, Chinese President Xi Jinping condemned Washington’s support of Taipei.
On the 70th anniversary of China’s entry into the Korean war against American forces, Xi said: “Seventy years ago, the imperialist invaders fired upon the doorstep of a new China.
“The Chinese people understood that you must use the language that invaders can understand – to fight war with war and to stop an invasion with force, earning peace and respect through victory.”
The reports follow threats of retaliation from China on Thursday after the latest US arms sale to Chinese-claimed Taiwan.
Taiwan welcomed the weapons package but said it was not looking to enter an arms race with Beijing.
The estimated $1.8billion US arms package, comprised of three major deals with the island includes sensors, artillery and missiles capable of reaching the mainland.
Drones and land-based Harpoon anti-ship missiles made by Boeing Co to serve as coastal defence cruise missiles are also anticipated parts of the deal.
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