Taiwan yesterday urged China to stop “military harassment” that risked damaging regional security after it said it detected 24 Chinese warplanes near the country.
“The People’s Liberation Army’s [PLA] continuous military harassment in the region could lead to a sharp escalation of tensions and worsening of regional security,” the Ministry of National Defense said in a statement.
“We urge Beijing to take responsibility and immediately cease all unilateral actions that undermine regional stability,” it said.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of National Defense
Maintaining the peaceful and stable status quo in the Taiwan Strait is critical to the security and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific region, and all parties, including Beijing, have a common responsibility to uphold it, the statement added.
More than 20 PLA warplanes and warships were detected around Taiwan during the 24-hour period from 6am on Monday to 6am yesterday, including one drone that was found circling Taiwan proper, it said.
The drone, identified as a PLA Air Force BZK-005 uncrewed aerial vehicle, was found flying eastward from China’s coast. It crossed the Taiwan Strait median line — the informal dividing line in the Strait between Taiwan and China — in the north, and then passed between Japan’s Yonaguni Island and Taiwan’s east coast. The drone then returned to China via the Bashi Channel south of Taiwan, it said.
According to a map released by the ministry, the Chinese drone’s route breached Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ), an area that is not part of the country’s territorial airspace as defined by international law, but that is declared to help Taiwan identify, locate and control approaching foreign aircraft.
Aside from the drone, the map shows that two Chinese J-10 fighter jets had entered Taiwan’s southwest ADIZ.
The ministry did not release the flight paths of the other eight planes and the whereabouts of the 10 vessels detected.
“The armed forces have monitored the situation and tasked CAP [combat air patrol] aircraft, navy vessels and land-based missile systems to respond to these activities,” the ministry said in a statement.
The latest Chinese mission happened the same day Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) arrived in Shanghai for annual city-to-city talks.
His office said the city government has many times reiterated that “the more difficult the environment is, the more the two sides should communicate.”
“What the people of Taiwan want is peace and prosperity. This is the voice of the people and the firm position of the city government,” it said.
The increase in incursions also comes after the US last week approved the sale to Taiwan of advanced sensor equipment for fighter jets.
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