China sent 45 warplanes and 15 vessels near Taiwan's waters during the 24-hour period starting from 6am yesterday, as the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) conducted its fifth "joint combat readiness patrol" of the month, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said today.
China yesterday staged "shooting exercises" in international shipping lanes 40 nautical miles off the coast of Kaohsiung and Pingtung County while also sending 34 aircraft across the median line, the MND said.
Two senior Taiwanese officials, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of the situation, said Taiwan did not detect any live-fire shooting in China's "drill zone" and there was no further escalation of military tensions.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of National Defense
They said the Chinese move was very similar to China's other recent military activity in the region, such as in the South China Sea, and off of Australia's coast, during which China's navy did not provide adequate advance notice about exercises.
"This is extremely rare and exceeds general expectations," one of the officials said, referring to the Chinese military's move of running exercises without providing adequate prior warning.
"Allies are exchanging ideas," the official said. "The democratic camp must do some risk management for our defense."
The exercise, which was not announced in advance, saw China designate a 70 nautical mile by 20 nautical mile zone as an exercise area, the MND said today, publishing a map highlighting activity by the PLA.
The PLA Navy’s long-range formation, consisting of seven vessels, operated in the area from 8:50am to 3:40pm yesterday, it said.
The MND yesterday night released two videos taken at sea by personnel onboard Taiwan military vessels during the PLA drills.
One of the videos, taken from the frigate Pan Chao, showed a Chinese Type 071 amphibious transport dock and a Type 903 replenishment ship in the distance.
In the other video, taken from the guided missile destroyer Su Ao, a Taiwan Navy officer was seen contacting a Chinese Type 054A guided missile frigate via radio transmission, warning the Chinese crew that establishing a restricted area in Taiwan's exclusive economic zone is a violation of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and demanding that it immediately stop its actions.
The MND condemned China's actions and dispatched units to monitor PLA activity and take appropriate measures.
The decision to hold an unannounced military exercises off Taiwan’s coast undermined regional stability and posed a high risk to international flights and ships, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said.
China is the biggest agitator against regional peace, it added.
The MOFA also called on the international community to continue to pay attention to China’s provocations in the region, adding that Taiwan would work with like-minded countries to safeguard the international order and maintain peace and stability.
In a news conference yesterday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian (林劍) said that the exercise “was not a diplomatic issue.”
Next week, China holds the annual meeting of its largely rubber stamp parliament, the country's biggest domestic political event, where it will unveil its defense budget for the year.
Next month also marks the 20th anniversary of China's "anti-secession law" that allows it to use force on Taiwan in extreme cases, though the legislation is vague.
A third senior Taiwan official, who is familiar with government policy towards China, told Reuters that Taipei has made "the best preparations for the worst-case scenario" in the event China escalates its rhetoric about Taiwan ahead of that anniversary, adding that pre-parliament drills were "very rare."
"They escalated the level of intimidation for no reason. It is not conducive to cross-strait stability and relations at all," the official added.
Additional reporting by Reuters
An undersea cable to Penghu County has been severed, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said today, with a Chinese-funded ship suspected of being responsible. It comes just a month after a Chinese ship was suspected of severing an undersea cable north of Keelung Harbor. The National Communications and Cyber Security Center received a report at 3:03am today from Chunghwa Telecom that the No. 3 cable from Taiwan to Penghu was severed 14.7km off the coast of Tainan, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) upon receiving a report from Chunghwa Telecom began to monitor the Togolese-flagged Hong Tai (宏泰)
A cat named Mikan (蜜柑) has brought in revenue of more than NT$10 million (US$305,390) for the Kaohsiung MRT last year. Mikan, born on April 4, 2020, was a stray cat before being adopted by personnel of Kaohsiung MRT’s Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station. Mikan was named after a Japanese term for mandarin orange due to his color and because he looks like an orange when curled up. He was named “station master” of Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station in September 2020, and has since become famous. With Kaohsiung MRT’s branding, along with the release of a set of cultural and creative products, station master Mikan
RISING TOURISM: A survey showed that tourist visits increased by 35 percent last year, while newly created attractions contributed almost half of the growth Changhua County’s Lukang Old Street (鹿港老街) and its surrounding historical area clinched first place among Taiwan’s most successful tourist attractions last year, while no location in eastern Taiwan achieved a spot in the top 20 list, the Tourism Administration said. The listing was created by the Tourism Administration’s Forward-looking Tourism Policy Research office. Last year, the Lukang Old Street and its surrounding area had 17.3 million visitors, more than the 16 million visitors for the Wenhua Road Night Market (文化路夜市) in Chiayi City and 14.5 million visitors at Tainan’s Anping (安平) historical area, it said. The Taipei 101 skyscraper and its environs —
Taiwan on Friday said a New Zealand hamburger restaurant has apologized for a racist remark to a Taiwanese customer after reports that it had first apologized to China sparked outrage in Taiwan. An image posted on Threads by a Taiwanese who ate at Fergburger in Queenstown showed that their receipt dated Sunday last week included the words “Ching Chang,” a racial slur. The Chinese Consulate-General in Christchurch in a statement on Thursday said it had received and accepted an apology from the restaurant over the incident. The comment triggered an online furor among Taiwanese who saw it as an insult to the
RSS