Chinese warplane incursions into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ) increased by 79 percent annually last year, as part of Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) efforts to amplify multipronged pressure against Taiwan, the US Department of Defense said in a report released on Thursday.
In its annual report to the US Congress on “Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China,” the department said that Beijing had “amplified diplomatic, political and military pressure against Taiwan” throughout last year.
These included large-scale joint exercises aimed at deterring US and allied operations, focusing on combat realism, the report says.
Photo: Reuters
Chinese warplane incursions into the ADIZ rose to 1,737 from 972 in 2021, an increase of 79 percent, it says.
The PLA has also diversified the type of aircraft used, with drones comprising about 10 percent of aircraft tracked since the Ministry of National Defense began releasing such data in September last year, it says.
The report makes special mention of the “several unprecedented actions” taken by the PLA following former US House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit in August last year, including flying more than 250 fighters into the ADIZ, sailing 13 navy vessels around Taiwan, firing ballistic missiles into waters around Taiwan and the “first-seen instance” of at least four missiles flying over the nation.
The department said it sees several military options for the PLA that could be deployed individually or in combination, each of which were practiced in August last year and again in April.
An air and maritime blockade over weeks or months, deployed in combination with missile strikes, potential seizures of outlying islands and cyberattacks, would seek to force Taiwan’s surrender, the report says.
It could also turn to limited force or coercive operations to stoke fear and degrade confidence in Taiwan’s leaders, or similarly attack important government and military targets through precision airstrikes, it says.
An amphibious landing would be “one of the most complicated and difficult military operations for the PLA,” making it a significant political and military risk for Beijing even if successful, the report says.
Seizing smaller islands is within PLA capabilities and would show capability and resolve, but would also involve “significant, and possibly prohibitive, political risk” in stoking pro-independence sentiment in Taiwan and international opposition, it adds.
Although the military gap continues to widen between them, Taiwan last year accelerated steps to improve its asymmetric and joint warfare capabilities, the report says.
Speaking to reporters before reporting to the legislature on Friday, Minister of National Defense Chiu Kuo-cheng (邱國正) confirmed the increased Chinese military pressure detailed in a report, vowing to continue working with other countries to strengthen surveillance and defense.
Additional reporting by CNA
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