China has demonstrated that it has the ability to seize air supremacy over areas west of the first island chain and is gradually gaining the ability to take control of the Taiwan Strait, a report published yesterday by the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said.
The Chinese military’s intelligence, monitoring and reconnaissance capabilities cover areas west of the second island chain in the western Pacific, and is enough to support all sorts of military actions within the region, the ministry said in its five-year military development plan submitted to the legislature.
Chinese bombers and fighter jets have regularly been crossing the first island chain into the western Pacific, which constitutes a direct challenge to the US’ military presence in the Asia-Pacific region and demonstrates China’s ability to achieve air supremacy in areas west of the island chain, the report said.
The first island chain comprises Taiwan, the Kuril Islands, the Japanese archipelago, the Ryukyu Islands, the northern Philippines and Borneo, while the second island chain comprises the Bonins, the Marianas, Guam and the Palau archipelago.
The island chain strategy was first mentioned in 1951 by US foreign policy commentator John Foster Dulles during the Korean War. It is often used in political and military analyses of China’s military movements in the western Pacific.
China has been conducting far-sea training, using its first operational aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, as part of efforts to gradually improve its ability to take control of the Taiwan Strait, the report said.
Meanwhile, the Chinese army has been sharpening its preparedness against Taiwan via landing drills and has developed the ability to seize Taiwan’s outlying islands, the report said.
It said that China has short and medium-range missiles that can reach any part of Taiwan and is developing long-range missiles capable of countering foreign military forces.
In another annual report on China’s military power, the ministry said that in the period between Aug. 18 last year to Aug. 9, Chinese military aircraft skirted the nation’s air defense identification zone 16 times during their far-sea flight drills in a bid to intimidate Taiwan.
Between Dec. 25 last year and July 12, the Liaoning conducted four drills in the waters near Taiwan, including in the Strait, the report added.
It said any military action by China against Taiwan is likely to take the form of deterrence, blockade and live fire involving all branches of its armed services.
China might also increase its non-traditional combat operations, such as cyberattacks and electronic warfare, it said.
It also outlined seven scenarios that could lead to China’s use of force against Taiwan, starting with Taiwan declaring independence, moving unequivocally toward independence, facing domestic unrest or acquiring nuclear weapons.
The other three factors were a delay in cross-strait dialogue on peaceful unification, foreign intervention into Taiwan’s internal affairs and foreign military presence in Taiwan.
Global bodies should stop excluding Taiwan for political reasons, President William Lai (賴清德) told Pope Francis in a letter, adding that he agrees war has no winners. The Vatican is one of only 12 countries to retain formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, and Taipei has watched with concern efforts by Beijing and the Holy See to improve ties. In October, the Vatican and China extended an accord on the appointment of Catholic bishops in China for four years, pointing to a new level of trust between the two parties. Lai, writing to the pope in response to the pontiff’s message on Jan. 1’s
A Vietnamese migrant worker on Thursday won the NT$12 million (US$383,590) jackpot on a scratch-off lottery ticket she bought from a lottery shop in Changhua County’s Puyan Township (埔鹽), Taiwan Lottery Co said yesterday. The lottery winner, who is in her 30s and married, said she would continue to work in Taiwan and send her winnings to her family in Vietnam to improve their life. More Taiwanese and migrant workers have flocked to the lottery shop on Sec 2 of Jhangshuei Road (彰水路) to share in the luck. The shop owner, surnamed Chen (陳), said that his shop has been open for just
TAKE BREAKS: A woman developed cystitis by refusing to get up to use the bathroom while playing mahjong for fear of disturbing her winning streak, a doctor said People should stand up and move around often while traveling or playing mahjong during the Lunar New Year holiday, as prolonged sitting can lead to cystitis or hemorrhoids, doctors said. Yuan’s General Hospital urologist Lee Tsung-hsi (李宗熹) said that he treated a 63-year-old woman surnamed Chao (趙) who had been sitting motionless and holding off going to the bathroom, increasing her risk of bladder infection. Chao would drink beverages and not urinate for several hours while playing mahjong with friends and family, especially when she was on a winning streak, afraid that using the bathroom would ruin her luck, he said. She had
MUST REMAIN FREE: A Chinese takeover of Taiwan would lead to a global conflict, and if the nation blows up, the world’s factories would fall in a week, a minister said Taiwan is like Prague in 1938 facing Adolf Hitler; only if Taiwan remains free and democratic would the world be safe, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an interview with Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera. The ministry on Saturday said Corriere della Sera is one of Italy’s oldest and most read newspapers, frequently covers European economic and political issues, and that Wu agreed to an interview with the paper’s senior political analyst Massimo Franco in Taipei on Jan. 3. The interview was published on Jan. 26 with the title “Taiwan like Prague in 1938 with Hitler,” the ministry
RSS