The military and national security apparatus was in “full control” when two Chinese Sukhoi-27 fighters crossed the centerline in the Taiwan Strait on June 29, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said yesterday.
The Chinese-language newspaper United Daily News reported that one of the two Chinese fighter aircraft had crossed the theoretical median maritime border between Taiwan and China while allegedly pursuing a U-2S high-altitude US reconnaissance aircraft.
Two Taiwanese F-16 aircraft intercepted the Su-27s, which subsequently returned to Chinese airspace, the report said.
According to the report, the U-2 was based out of a US base in Osan, South Korea, but took off from Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan, to execute a surveillance mission.
Inquiries to a spokesperson at the US Department of Defense to confirm the presence of a U-2 aircraft near the Taiwan Strait on June 29 remained unanswered by press time yesterday.
The ministry confirmed the veracity of the report, but added that the incident was an isolated case and was not regarded as a provocative act.
The military is closely monitoring the activities of Chinese aircraft in the airspace over the Taiwan Strait, it said in a statement.
“When any emergency situation is detected, the military will immediately send the [Taiwanese] air force to the area to deliver warnings,” the statement said.
Legislators yesterday differed on the significance of the incident.
The intrusion was an act of “aggression, demonstration, provocation and unfriendliness,” Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus whip Tsai Huang-liang (蔡煌瑯) said at a press conference, adding that President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and the ministry should file a protest with Beijing.
The act was “an infringement of our sovereignty,” DPP legislators Wong Chin-chu (翁金珠) and Chen Ting-fei (陳亭妃) said, urging Ma and Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) to protest.
The ministry handled the incident in accordance with standard operation procedure, Presidential Office spokesperson Fang Chiang Tai-chi (范姜泰基) said.
“With current cross-strait relations the best they have been in decades, I don’t think China sent those fighter aircraft to provoke Taiwan. It did so to warn the US against gathering intelligence along its southeastern coast,” Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lin Yu-fang (林郁方) said.
It might be acceptable for Taipei to express its displeasure to China about the incident, but lodging a protest would be unnecessary, Lin added.
“The incident was just a case that has sometimes occurred during the past decades and no armed aerial confrontation ensued,” Lin said.
Lin said he did not support the idea of Taiwan negotiating the creation of a confidence building mechanism (CBM) with China as a result of the incident.
“The time is not right for CBM talks … and that would worry the US,” he said.
“It’s not unusual for soldiers on the front line to commit such mistakes,” said KMT Legislator Shuai Hua-min (帥化民), a retired army general.
Shuai said Taipei should refrain from overreacting because “the centerline has always been an invisible line and the Chinese aircraft did not make their way deep into Taiwanese territory.”
“It comes down to the pilot’s behavior. Taiwanese aircraft were scrambled and the Chinese side turned back. That’s about it militarily,” he said.
If Taiwan overplays the significance of the incident, it would only stir up more trouble, Shuai said, adding that a similar situation occurred every day after former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) defined the cross-strait relationship as “state-to-state” in nature.
“It’s not necessary to demand an explanation from the mainland [China],” Shuai said.
KMT caucus whip Chao Li-yun (趙麗雲) said the caucus would invite ministry officials to brief lawmakers on the incident to clarify possible misunderstandings after the legislature convenes in late September.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY STAFF WRITER
Typhoon Usagi yesterday had weakened into a tropical storm, but a land warning issued by the Central Weather Administration (CWA) was still in effect in four areas in southern Taiwan. As of 5pm yesterday, Tropical Storm Usagi was over waters 120km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), the southernmost tip of Taiwan proper, and was moving north at 9kph, CWA data showed. The storm was expected to veer northeast later yesterday. It had maximum sustained winds of 101kph, with gusts of up to 126kph, the data showed. The CWA urged residents of Kaohsiung, Pingtung County, Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春) to remain alert to
ONE LAST TALK: While Xi said that Taiwan was a ‘red line,’ Biden, in what is likely his last meeting with Xi as president, called for an end to China’s military activity around Taiwan China’s military intimidation and economic coercion against Taiwan are the main causes of tensions that are destabilizing peace in the Taiwan Strait, Taipei said yesterday while thanking US President Joe Biden for expressing Washington’s firm stance of maintaining peace and stability in the region. Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) met on Saturday for their third meeting and their first talks in seven months on the sidelines of the APEC forum in Lima, Peru. It was likely Biden’s last meeting as president with Xi. During their conversation, Biden reiterated the US’ opposition to any unilateral change to the “status quo” from either
Taiwan would participate in the 2026 APEC summit to be hosted by China after Beijing promised it would ensure the personal safety of attendees, Taiwanese national security sources said yesterday. The APEC Leaders’ Machu Picchu Declaration announced yesterday said that China would host the APEC summit in 2026. Beijing proposed hosting the summit shortly before this year’s gathering began on Friday, a national security official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Many APEC members expressed concerns about China hosting the event and said that prior communication over the decision was insufficient, the official said. Taiwan brought up concerns about legal “guidelines” China announced in
MEET AND GREET: The White House, which called the interaction ‘just a handshake,’ did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether Biden planned to visit Taiwan’s envoy to the APEC summit, Lin Hsin-i (林信義), on Friday invited US President Joe Biden to visit Taiwan. During the APEC Leaders’ Informal Dialogue, Lin, who represented President William Lai (賴清德) at the summit, spoke with Biden and expressed gratitude to the outgoing US president for his contribution to improving bilateral ties between Taipei and Washington over the past four years, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. Lin and Biden exchanged views during the conversation, with Lin extending an invitation to Biden to visit Taiwan, it said. Biden is to step down in January next year, when US president-elect Donald Trump is
RSS