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| A US Navy P-3C Orion (File Photo) |
By Prashanth Parameswaran
Defense ministry confirms move to dispatch maritime patrol aircraft.
On April 20, Taiwan’s defense ministry reportedly confirmed for the first time that the country will dispatch P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft on surveillance missions in its claimed territory within the disputed South China Sea.
According to the ministry in a report sent to the country’s legislature, while the aircraft are now engaged in anti-submarine reconnaissance and joint surveillance in Taiwan’s surrounding waters and air defense identification zone (ADIZ), the military will gradually expand their deployment to areas outside the ADIZ including in the South China Sea. No specifics were given on either when this would occur or what the specific scope of the P-3C Orion aircraft operations would be.
Read the full story at The Diplomat