A Chinese civilian aircraft flying near Lienchiang County’s Dongyin Island (東引) earlier this month was likely meant as a provocation or a test of Taiwan’s combat readiness, military officials said on Tuesday.
Ministry of National Defense (MND) spokesman Shih Shun-wen (史順文) told a news conference that the military could not rule out that China tried to test whether Taiwan would respond to the flyby.
“Whether it was meant as a provocation or a test, the nation’s armed forces are always ready and have prepared contingencies for all kinds of scenarios,” he said.
Photo: CNA
The Feb. 5 flight was confirmed by the ministry a day later.
Residents on the island, near the coast of China’s Fujian Province, told Chinese-language media that they could hear and see the aircraft, spurring speculations that it entered Taiwan’s territorial airspace.
Local media reported that the low-flying plane evaded radar when entering Taiwan’s airspace, but the military denied that allegation.
Air force Chief of Staff Huang Chih-wei (黃志偉) on Tuesday said that the military identified the aircraft as a civilian Y-12 light twin-engine plane, adding that it came near Dongyin, but did not enter Taiwanese airspace.
Military units on the island took “appropriate measures to monitor the aircraft’s movements to safeguard national security,” he said, without elaborating, citing the sensitivity of the issue.
Unlike after Chinese incursions into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone, the military did not reveal the Y-12s flight path.
A country’s territorial airspace extends 12 nautical miles (22.2km) from the coastline of its territory. Countries have the right to attack any hostile aircraft that enters its territorial airspace without seeking permission.
Dongyin, part of the Matsu archipelago, is less than 50km east of China’s coast and about 185km northwest of Keelung.
Defense expert Lin Ying-yu (林穎佑) said that by sending a civilian aircraft near Taiwan’s territorial airspace, Beijing was engaging in so-called gray-zone warfare, staying below the threshold of traditional warfare.
Such tactics make it difficult for the defending nation to decide whether to answer with military force or police action, prolonging the time it takes to respond, he said.
Lin called on the military to work closely with other government units to implement a unified strategy to respond to such threats.
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard