Taiwan yesterday told China to stop its “destructive unilateral actions” after more than 100 Chinese warplanes and nine navy ships were detected in areas around the nation.
The Ministry of National Defense (MND) described the number of warplanes detected in 24 hours as a “recent high,” while Beijing has so far refrained from issuing any official comment on the sorties.
“Between the morning of September 17th to 18th, the Ministry of National Defense had detected a total of 103 Chinese aircraft, which was a recent high and has posed severe challenges to the security across the Taiwan Strait and in the region,” it said in a statement.
Photo: Daniel Ceng, AP
Beijing’s “continued military harassment can easily lead to a sharp escalation in tension and worsen regional security,” the ministry said, as it called on China to “immediately stop such destructive unilateral actions.”
Forty of the planes crossed the so-called median line of the Taiwan Strait, and entered Taiwan’s southwest and southeast air defense identification zone (ADIZ), the statement said.
An ADIZ is a self-declared area in which a country claims the right to identify, locate and control approaching foreign aircraft, but is not part of its territorial airspace as defined by international law.
Last week, Taipei also reported an increased number of incursions by Chinese warplanes and ships.
The uptick came as Beijing said its troops were on “high alert” after two ships belonging to the US and Canada sailed through the Taiwan Strait.
The defense ministry said 68 Chinese aircraft and 10 naval vessels were detected around the nation between Wednesday morning and Thursday morning last week.
Analysts said China could be flexing its muscles to counter US influence in the Asia-Pacific region, as it leads multiple rounds of military drills with allies across the region.
“Politically, China aims to counter the military containment of democratic allies led by the United States,” said Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-funded Institute for National Defense and Security Research.
Chieh Chung (揭仲), an associate research fellow at the National Policy Foundation in Taipei, said that July to September is usually the most active time of year for Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) drills, and he suspected that the record 103 warplanes were part of a PLA exercise on the open seas.
Chieh said he did not think the incursions were meant to coincide with the meeting between Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) and US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan in Malta over the weekend.
If that were the case, it would expose a lack of coordination between China’s foreign affairs and military branches, he said.
Additional reporting by CNA
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
‘FORM OF PROTEST’: The German Institute Taipei said it was ‘shocked’ to see Nazi symbolism used in connection with political aims as it condemned the incident Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), who led efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), was released on bail of NT$80,000 yesterday amid an outcry over a Nazi armband he wore to questioning the night before. Sung arrived at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office for questioning in a recall petition forgery case on Tuesday night wearing a red armband bearing a swastika, carrying a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf and giving a Nazi salute. Sung left the building at 1:15am without the armband and apparently covering the book with a coat. This is a serious international scandal and Chinese
COUNTERINTELLIGENCE TRAINING: The ministry said 87.5 percent of the apprehended Chinese agents were reported by service members they tried to lure into becoming spies Taiwanese organized crime, illegal money lenders, temples and civic groups are complicit in Beijing’s infiltration of the armed forces, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said in a report yesterday. Retired service members who had been turned to Beijing’s cause mainly relied on those channels to infiltrate the Taiwanese military, according to the report to be submitted to lawmakers ahead of tomorrow’s hearing on Chinese espionage in the military. Chinese intelligence typically used blackmail, Internet-based communications, bribery or debts to loan sharks to leverage active service personnel to do its bidding, it said. China’s main goals are to collect intelligence, and develop a
RSS