Chinese military aircraft approaching Taiwan over the past two days demonstrates that Beijing is a threat to the entire region, and has shown Taiwanese even more clearly the true nature of China’s government, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said yesterday.
Multiple Chinese aircraft flew across the median line of the Taiwan Strait and into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone on Friday and Saturday. The Ministry of National Defense scrambled jets to intercept them.
Beijing on Friday announced combat drills near the Strait and denounced what it called collusion between the nation and the US.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
The exercises took place while US Undersecretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy and the Environment Keith Krach was in Taipei. Krach is the most senior US Department of State official to visit the nation in four decades.
Tsai yesterday denounced China’s drills, saying that its activities where more than just a threat to Taiwan.
“I believe these activities are no help to China’s international image, and what is more have put Taiwan’s people even more on their guard, understanding even better the true nature of the Chinese communist regime,” she said.
“Additionally, other countries in the region also have a better understanding of the threat posed by China,” she said. “The Chinese communists must restrain themselves, and not provoke.”
Separately, a military source said that Taiwan would not make any provocative moves, but would reserve “the right to launch a defensive first strike” if Chinese forces attack.
In the past, a “first strike” had different definitions and interpretations within the military, sources said, adding that in light of the latest developments, the military earlier this month clearly defined it as “the right to launch a defensive first strike.”
Ministry spokesman Major General Shih Shun-wen (史順文) earlier this month said that in scenarios in which Taiwanese military jets are attacked, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army is preparing to invade Taiwan, or Chinese forces are determined as having made “a clear attacking move and threat,” the military would exercise “the right to launch a defensive first strike,” after the situation has been assessed and authorization has been given.
Due to the growing threat from China, the ministry has held a series of briefings at the Air Force Combat Command to ensure that Taiwan’s fighter jet pilots follow protocol for engaging enemy threats, a military source said.
The military does not know what China’s intentions behind the frequent incursions are, but Taiwan wants to prevent any actions by its pilots that might accidentally trigger a cross-strait war, the source said.
While Beijing has said that it would not strike first or fire the first shot in a potential cross-strait war, it has been ratcheting up its military coercion of Taiwan, the source said.
Taiwan would not fire the first shot, but it would exercise its right to defend itself and would “definitely fire back if fired upon,” the source said.
As per protocol, frontline personnel, following authorization, could proceed to “destroy” the enemy if the routine of “discover, identify, intercept and warning” fails to deter the enemy from advancing, sources said.
The five-day computer-aided war games segment of the annual Han Kuang exercises, which concluded on Friday, revealed that the military does not have enough long-range precision missiles to defend the nation effectively, a source said.
The military would continue to beef up its defense capabilities in that area, amid the growing threat from across the Strait, the source added.
The computerized war games, held from Monday last week to Friday, simulated a full-scale invasion attempt by China.
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
Taiwan was ranked the fourth-safest country in the world with a score of 82.9, trailing only Andorra, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar in Numbeo’s Safety Index by Country report. Taiwan’s score improved by 0.1 points compared with last year’s mid-year report, which had Taiwan fourth with a score of 82.8. However, both scores were lower than in last year’s first review, when Taiwan scored 83.3, and are a long way from when Taiwan was named the second-safest country in the world in 2021, scoring 84.8. Taiwan ranked higher than Singapore in ninth with a score of 77.4 and Japan in 10th with
China's military today said it began joint army, navy and rocket force exercises around Taiwan to "serve as a stern warning and powerful deterrent against Taiwanese independence," calling President William Lai (賴清德) a "parasite." The exercises come after Lai called Beijing a "foreign hostile force" last month. More than 10 Chinese military ships approached close to Taiwan's 24 nautical mile (44.4km) contiguous zone this morning and Taiwan sent its own warships to respond, two senior Taiwanese officials said. Taiwan has not yet detected any live fire by the Chinese military so far, one of the officials said. The drills took place after US Secretary
RSS