China's fighter planes have not encroached on Taiwan's air space, the Ministry of National Defense confirmed yesterday, refuting media reports claiming incursions across the "middle line" of the Taiwan Strait.
A private meeting on Tuesday between lawmakers and Chief of the General Staff General Tang Yao-ming (
At an emergency press conference on Tuesday evening, defense officials said the reports were not true, as they were based on a misinterpretation of what General Tang had said to lawmakers from the People First Party (PFP).
"What Tang said at that meeting involved two separate cases of Chinese fighter planes crossing the middle line of the Taiwan Strait last summer -- after President Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) redefined cross-strait relations as being special `state-to-state' in nature," defense ministry spokesman Major General Kung Fan-ding (孔繁定) said.
"Tang did not talk about any recent occurrence of the same kind to the lawmakers. There has been no close approach of Chinese fighter planes since the last two incidents, which occurred last July and last August respectively," Kung said.
Despite the defense ministry's denial, Wang Tien-ging (
Another PFP lawmaker, Chin Huei-chu (
According to Chinese newspapers that quoted unidentified PFP lawmakers, Tang said the air force did nothing to stop the fighter planes from entering Taiwan's airspace so as to avoid the possibility of an outbreak in hostilities.
But another defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said yesterday there had indeed been sightings of close approaches by Chinese warplanes over the past few months.
The official said that on at least one occasion it had been US planes which expelled the intruders.
At the end of February, five Chinese military planes flew west of the offshore Penghu islands, under close watch by a number of US fighter planes, the official said.
The planes, including two Hung-6 bombers and three Su-27 jet fighters, were only 10 nautical miles away from Penghu at the closest, the official said.
The antiquated Hung-6 bombers do not pose a real threat to Taiwan by themselves, but some have reportedly been converted into electronic warfare planes.
SEA WARNING LIKELY: The storm, named Gaemi, could become a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, with the Taipei City Government preparing for flooding A tropical depression east of the Philippines developed into a tropical storm named Gaemi at 2pm yesterday, and was moving toward eastern Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Gaemi could begin to affect Taiwan proper on Tuesday, lasting until Friday, and could develop into a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, it said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued as early as Tuesday morning, it added. Gaemi, the third tropical storm in the Pacific Ocean this typhoon season, is projected to begin moving northwest today, and be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday, the agency said. Today, there would likely
CHIPS AND DEFENSE: Trump said the US had lost its chip business and Taipei should pay it for defense, and added that ‘we’re no different than an insurance company’ Taiwan-US relations are solid, and both sides are in agreement that peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and the Indo-Pacific region are everyone’s concern, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday following comments by former US president Donald Trump that Taiwan “should pay” for US defense. Taiwan is thankful to the US for supporting Taiwan’s bid to participate in international organizations, Cho told a news conference in Taipei. “I know the people very well, respect them greatly. They did take about 100 percent of our chip business,” Trump told Bloomberg on June 25 in an interview that was published on Tuesday. “I think
SHOW OF SUPPORT: Taiwan has been one of the largest buyers of US defense equipment, supporting American businesses and jobs, US lawmakers said Taiwan has been paying for its own defense, a US Department of State official said on Wednesday, adding that purchases of military equipment are important to the US economy and for ensuring regional security. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller was asked at a news conference about comments by former US president Donald Trump, the Republican nominee in November’s US presidential election, who said during an interview with Bloomberg Businessweek that Taiwan should pay Washington for its defense needs. “The purchases that they [Taiwan] have made not only are important, we believe, to regional security, but are important to the United States economy,”
Hsu Wen-erh (許汶而) on Friday became the first Taiwanese to swim solo across the English Channel, saying she was very happy to bring Taiwan to the world. Hsu completed the challenge in 12 hours, 17 minutes and eight seconds, after swimming across the Strait of Gibraltar in October last year. She said she had planned to swim the English Channel in August next year, but seized the opportunity when a vacancy became available on the waiting list. She went to the UK in May to train for a test that involves swimming for six hours at 16°C, which people who want to swim