The Air Force yesterday confirmed a local media report that a Russian Tupolev Tu-95 bomber had briefly entered the country’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ) on Jan. 28, but said it did not dispatch combat aircraft to monitor or intercept the intruder as it changed course toward Japan after receiving a warning message.
Chief of General Staff of Air Force Combat Command, Major General Wang Hsuan-chou (汪旋周) told a press conference that “on Jan. 28 the Air Force discovered an unknown aircraft had entered Taiwan’s ADIZ. The Air Force reported it to the Ministry of National Defense, and also monitored the aircraft using radar and raised the alert level.”
“The measures taken were in accordance with the Air Force’s standard procedure,” he said.
After two or three days of checking, the Air Force identified the aircraft as a Russian Tu-95 strategic bomber, he said.
Asked why the Air Force did not dispatch aircraft to intercept the Tu-95, Wang said it had followed procedures for discovering an unknown aircraft in the air defense zone.
The Air Force also issued a press statement yesterday, adding that the Russian bomber, flying northeast to south, flew along the northeast boundary of Taiwan’s air defense identification zone and only briefly entered Taiwan’s ADIZ.
Because the aircraft stayed in Taiwan’s air space for a short time and Combat Command decided the bomber was not hostile, combat aircraft were not scrambled, the statement said.
The Russian plane turned toward Okinawa after a warning broadcast was issued, it said.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chai Trong-rong (蔡同榮), however, accused the Air Force yesterday of neglecting its duties by not dispatching combat aircraft to monitor or intercept the bomber.
“Any foreign combat aircraft intruding into the nation’s defense territory is a very serious matter, but the Air Force did not respond to the situation at all,” he said.
Chai requested the Air Force discipline the personnel in charge during the time of the incident.
NO-LIMITS PARTNERSHIP: ‘The bottom line’ is that if the US were to have a conflict with China or Russia it would likely open up a second front with the other, a US senator said Beijing and Moscow could cooperate in a conflict over Taiwan, the top US intelligence chief told the US Senate this week. “We see China and Russia, for the first time, exercising together in relation to Taiwan and recognizing that this is a place where China definitely wants Russia to be working with them, and we see no reason why they wouldn’t,” US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told a US Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing on Thursday. US Senator Mike Rounds asked Haines about such a potential scenario. He also asked US Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse
INSPIRING: Taiwan has been a model in the Asia-Pacific region with its democratic transition, free and fair elections and open society, the vice president-elect said Taiwan can play a leadership role in the Asia-Pacific region, vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) told a forum in Taipei yesterday, highlighting the nation’s resilience in the face of geopolitical challenges. “Not only can Taiwan help, but Taiwan can lead ... not only can Taiwan play a leadership role, but Taiwan’s leadership is important to the world,” Hsiao told the annual forum hosted by the Center for Asia-Pacific Resilience and Innovation think tank. Hsiao thanked Taiwan’s international friends for their long-term support, citing the example of US President Joe Biden last month signing into law a bill to provide aid to Taiwan,
China’s intrusive and territorial claims in the Indo-Pacific region are “illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive,” new US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo said on Friday, adding that he would continue working with allies and partners to keep the area free and open. Paparo made the remarks at a change-of-command ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, where he took over the command from Admiral John Aquilino. “Our world faces a complex problem set in the troubling actions of the People’s Republic of China [PRC] and its rapid buildup of forces. We must be ready to answer the PRC’s increasingly intrusive and
STATE OF THE NATION: The legislature should invite the president to deliver an address every year, the TPP said, adding that Lai should also have to answer legislators’ questions The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday proposed inviting president-elect William Lai (賴清德) to make a historic first state of the nation address at the legislature following his inauguration on May 20. Lai is expected to face many domestic and international challenges, and should clarify his intended policies with the public’s representatives, KMT caucus secretary-general Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) said when making the proposal at a meeting of the legislature’s Procedure Committee. The committee voted to add the item to the agenda for Friday, along with another similar proposal put forward by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). The invitation is in line with Article 15-2