There is a “huge” difference between Chinese warplanes flying around Taiwan and intruding into its airspace, and the former should not be deemed provocative, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Wu Sz-huai (吳斯懷) said, calling on the Ministry of National Defense not to mislead the public.
Just as US aircraft flying by the nation should not be deemed provocative, neither should Chinese aircraft, Wu wrote in a question to the Executive Yuan on Wednesday last week.
Any assumption that such moves are provocative lacks a legal basis, and the ministry should avoid “crying wolf” and causing panic, said Wu, a retired lieutenant general.
Photo: Chung Lee-hua, Taipei Times
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Air Force has since last month flown its warplanes near Taiwan’s airspace four times and in one incident locked on to a Taiwanese F-16.
The ministry yesterday said that the Chinese Communist Party has never renounced the use of force to annex Taiwan and has unilaterally changed the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait.
Apart from the four drills directed at Taiwan, China on March 31 last year flew two warplanes past the median line of the Taiwan Strait, breaking a tacit agreement between Taipei and Beijing, the ministry said, adding that these incidents are all evidence of Chinese browbeating and provocation.
The ministry said that it has faithfully and dutifully passed on the facts and has by no means misled the public.
Wu last month called Chinese warplanes’ fly-bys “very unwise and inappropriate,” only to change his tone in a question addressed to the Executive Yuan later that month.
Wu on Wednesday last week wrote to the Executive Yuan, saying: “A correct understanding of national defense will improve the public’s notion of the issue. Conversely, misinformation would sow panic.”
Apart from the one incident in which Chinese aircraft crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait, the other Chinese fly-bys last month involved aircraft participating in long-distance drills, he said.
US bombers and marine patrol aircraft last month also flew near Taiwan, including off the east coast, Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻) and once near the median line of the Taiwan Strait, he added.
He cited international law for defending Chinese fly-bys, which did not intrude into the nation’s airspace, even though the concept only applies to vessels.
The median line of the Taiwan Strait is a supposed border unilaterally drawn by the US under the Sino-American Mutual Defense Treaty, Wu said, adding that most of the line is in international waters.
The line has served as a military demarcation adhered to by both sides of the Taiwan Strait based on a tacit agreement, he said.
Instead of emphasizing Chinese fly-bys, the ministry should focus on the formations employed by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy in joint military exercises, as well as its ability to neutralize the effects of attacks, he added.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
BULLY TACTICS: Beijing has continued its incursions into Taiwan’s airspace even as Xi Jinping talked about Taiwan being part of the Chinese family and nation China should stop its coercion of Taiwan and respect mainstream public opinion in Taiwan about sovereignty if its expression of goodwill is genuine, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday. Ministry spokesman Jeff Liu (劉永健) made the comment in response to media queries about a meeting between former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) the previous day. Ma voiced support for the so-called “1992 consensus,” while Xi said that although the two sides of the Taiwan Strait have “different systems,” this does not change the fact that they are “part of the same country,” and that “external
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source