Sukhoi Su-35 | Credit: TASS
Key points
- Taiwanese Twitter users reported that a Chinese Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jet was shot down by Taiwan.
- Some users say the plane crashed due to a technical failure
- Video of the crashed fighter plane that goes viral on social networks
New Delhi: Taiwanese social media is rife with claims that a Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jet from China was shot down by the country’s air defense system.
According to a report by The Jewish Press, the plane crashed in Guangxi, an autonomous coastal region in southern China, bordering Vietnam, after invading the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea.
Several videos circulating on social media show a plane engulfed in thick smoke. The video is from an unknown location.
However, many users have flagged the report as false, while some said that the fighter plane crashed due to a technical failure.
Nicola Smith, Asia Correspondent for The Daily Telegraph, rejected the report saying that Taiwan’s Defense Ministry categorically responded that it was fake news.
Russia completed Su-35 deliveries to China in 2019
In 2019, Russia completed deliveries of Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jets to China under a contract signed in November 2015.
The $ 2 billion contract made China the first foreign buyer of the plane. The Su-35S supersonic fighter jet made its maiden flight on February 19, 2008 and is a derivative of the Su-27 jet.
Last month, Chinese state media threatened to carry out a “military mission” until September 4 in the northern Taiwan Strait, after which Taipei warned Beijing against any attempt to annex the democratic island nation.
The Global Times said that China’s Maritime Security Administration had announced that it would carry out a “military mission from Friday to September 4 in the Bohai Strait and the northern Yellow Sea.”
China wants to annex Taiwan
The Taipei Times recently reported that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) does not possess the military capabilities to wage an all-out war against Taiwan due to the demanding geological environment of the Taiwan Strait.
A report titled ‘China Military Power Report 2020’ The Ministry of National Defense said the PLA lacks the necessary landing vehicles and logistics to launch an incursion into Taiwan through the Taiwan Strait.
“If Beijing were to wage war now, its combat plans could take the form of military intimidation, blockades, firepower attacks and landing operations,” the report said.
