Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defence Denies It Shot Down Chinese Su-35 Fighter Jet

Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defence officials have denied that it shot down a Chinese Su-35 fighter jet after social media footage of the wreckage of a plane burning near a building emerged. The military jet was claimed to have been shot down by Taiwan after it intruded into the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, according to the accounts. Footage circulated on Twitter shows the wreckage engulfed in flames and thick smoke. Several online accounts claimed that it was a Sukhoi Su-35 fighter plane that fell down in the city of Guilin in southern Chinese province Guangxi.

Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defence issued a statement today, saying that the claim of it shooting down a Chinese Su-35 fighter jet was ‘false information. Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defence said the claim of it shooting down a Chinese Su-35 fighter jet was ‘false information’ Terrifying footage shows the wreckage swallowed by blaze while thick smoke billowed from the scene. An onlooker can be heard saying: ‘A plane has fallen. A fighter jet.’ The pilot is said to have suffered severe injuries, according to the online accounts.

Earlier, multiple videos on twitter showed an aircraft engulfed in thick smoke in Guangxi (southern China bordering Vietnam). It was alleged that the warplane was operated by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF). Chinese military experts have recently talked about crushing Taiwan. “A pair of (combat-capable) aircraft carriers can squeeze the island of Taiwan from different angles. Together with the DF-21D and DF-26 anti-ship ballistic missiles of the PLA Rocket Force, they can lock down the island and deny possible U.S. intervention.

The Sukhoi Su-35 (Russian: Сухой Су-35; NATO reporting name: Flanker-E) is the designation for two improved derivatives of the Su-27 air-defence fighter. The Chinese military received the first four aircraft in December 2016. China has received a second batch of ten aircraft in 2017, and another ten in 2018. The Su-35S entered service with PLAAF in April 2018, and are based in Guangdong province in southeast China. In June 2019, Russia offered China a second batch of Su-35s.