China's J-20 stealth fighters will likely patrol Taiwan's airspace soon — and the island nation is ready to counter

J-20 china stealth

Wikimedia Commons

• Beijing has repeatedly hinted that its new J-20 stealth fighters would conduct patrols in Taiwan's airspace to coerce the island nation to reunify with China. 

• But Taiwan has a plan to counter China's J-20: new mobile passive radars and new active radars for their F-16Vs.

• Taiwan's plan will be effective, but it won't be able to defend its airspace as well major powers, such as the US.

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A Chinese military analyst over the weekend told state-run China Central Television that Beijing will soon fly its new J-20 stealth fighter into Taiwan's airspace. 

"J-20s can come and go at will above Taiwan," Wang Mingliang, a military researcher at China National Defense University, said, according to Asia Times, adding that Taiwan is worried about "precision strikes on the leadership or key targets." 

This threat was also echoed by Zhou Chenming, another Chinese military analyst, less than two weeks ago. 

"The PLA air force jets will enter the Taiwan [air defence identification zone] sooner or later," Chenming told the South China Morning Post. 

China officially put the J-20 into combat service in February, and earlier this month, said it had flown its first sea training mission. But it's still unclear if the J-20 is operating with the new WS-15 engines, or older WS-10G engines. 

China's "goal is reunification with Taiwan" and "this is just one piece," Dan Blumenthal, director of Asian Studies at the American Enterprise Institute, told Business Insider, adding that cyber, sea and political warfare are also part of Beijing's plan to coerce Taiwan into reunification.

Chengdu J-20

Screenshot via hindu judaic/YouTube

But Taiwan has a plan to counter China's J-20: new mobile passive radars and new active radars for their F-16Vs, according to Tapei Times.  

Taiwan will begin testing two new mobile passive radars developed by the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology this year, and plans to begin mass producing them by 2020. 

These passive radars will work in tandem with APG-83 Scalable Agile Beam Radars, which Taiwan started mounting on its F-16Vs in January 2017, Asia Times reported. 

The active and passive radars will be linked in a way so that they do not emit radiation, making them less susceptible to electronic jamming and anti-radiation missile attacks, Asia Times reported. 

"It's exactly what they should be doing," Blumenthal said. " Just like any country would, theyre going to try to chase [the J-20s] away," adding that Taiwan's plan will be effective, but that they won't be able to defend their airspace as well as major powers, such as the US. 

"Taiwan could probably use all sorts of help," Blumenthal said. 

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