President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday urged the countries voicing concern over China’s new air defense identification zone (ADIZ) over the East China Sea to hold talks with China as soon as possible to restore calm to the region.
“I again solemnly call on related parties to refrain from actions that would elevate tensions in the East China Sea, and to quickly hold bilateral dialogues with Beijing on relevant issues, including the issue of the ADIZ, to restore the East China Sea to its original state as a sea of peace and cooperation,” Ma said.
He made the statement in Taipei at the opening of the International Conference on the 70th Anniversary of the Cairo Declaration.
Ma reiterated Taiwan’s sovereignty over the Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台) — which are covered by China’s ADIZ and are also claimed by Japan, which calls them the Senkakus — and said the air force will continue its missions and training exercises within Taiwan’s own ADIZ.
“We will express our solemn position to the Chinese authorities through the relevant channels because they did not consult with us before announcing the ADIZ,” Ma said.
He also called on countries involved in the dispute to consider Taiwan’s proposal last year to resolve their differences in a peaceful manner.
He said the Civil Aeronautics Administration has agreed to submit flight plans to China because of security concerns.
China’s Nov. 23 announcement of its ADIZ is controversial, as the zone covers the Diaoyutais.
Japan and South Korea ignored China’s demand to be notified about any flights passing through the zone and have sent military aircraft into the area in recent days, after US aircraft flew through it at the beginning of last week.
Separately, the Ministry of National Defense said it could not rule out China announcing another ADIZ over the South China Sea.
The legislature’s Foreign and National Defense Committee has asked the Defense Ministry, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Security Bureau to offer their evaluations on the impact of China’s ADIZ claim in the East China Sea in a committee meeting scheduled for today.
The Defense Ministry’s report was delivered to legislators yesterday.
According to the military report, the purpose of Beijing’s move also includes an intention to challenge a regional security mechanism long dictated by the US and provide a legal basis for China’s claim in case of future arbitration over sovereignty disputes in the East China Sea.
The ADIZ allows the Chinese to counter US and Japanese air and naval electronic reconnaissance measures in the area, which have long been a source of friction for the Chinese military, the defense ministry added.
An expected increase in contacts between Chinese warplanes and aircraft from other countries could put more pressure on Taiwan’s air defenses, it said, adding that monitoring measures for Taiwan’s own ADIZ will be stepped up to ensure adequate advance warning.
Additional reporting by Rich Chang
US PUBLICATION: The results indicated a change in attitude after a 2023 survey showed 55 percent supported full-scale war to achieve unification, the report said More than half of Chinese were against the use of force to unify with Taiwan under any circumstances, a survey conducted by the Atlanta, Georgia-based Carter Center and Emory University found. The survey results, which were released on Wednesday in a report titled “Sovereignty, Security, & US-China Relations: Chinese Public Opinion,” showed that 55.1 percent of respondents agreed or somewhat agreed that “the Taiwan problem should not be resolved using force under any circumstances,” while 24.5 percent “strongly” or “somewhat” disagreed with the statement. The results indicated a change in attitude after a survey published in “Assessing Public Support for (Non)Peaceful Unification
The CIA has a message for Chinese government officials worried about their place in Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) government: Come work with us. The agency released two Mandarin-language videos on social media on Thursday inviting disgruntled officials to contact the CIA. The recruitment videos posted on YouTube and X racked up more than 5 million views combined in their first day. The outreach comes as CIA Director John Ratcliffe has vowed to boost the agency’s use of intelligence from human sources and its focus on China, which has recently targeted US officials with its own espionage operations. The videos are “aimed at
‘MISGUIDED EDICT’: Two US representatives warned that Somalia’s passport move could result in severe retaliatory consequences and urged it to reverse its decision Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) has ordered that a special project be launched to counter China’s “legal warfare” distorting UN Resolution 2758, a foreign affairs official said yesterday. Somalia’s Civil Aviation Authority on Wednesday cited UN Resolution 2758 and Mogadishu’s compliance with the “one China” principle as it banned people from entering or transiting in the African nation using Taiwanese passports or other Taiwanese travel documents. The International Air Transport Association’s system shows that Taiwanese passport holders cannot enter Somalia or transit there. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) protested the move and warned Taiwanese against traveling to Somalia or Somaliland
Four former Hong Kong opposition lawmakers jailed in the territory’s largest national security case were released yesterday after more than four years in prison, the first among dozens convicted last year to regain their freedom. Former legislators Claudia Mo (毛孟靜), Jeremy Tam (譚文豪), Kwok Ka-ki (郭家麒) and Gary Fan (范國威) were part of a group of 47 public figures — including some of Hong Kong’s best-known democracy advocates — who were charged with subversion in 2021 for holding an informal primary election. The case fell under a National Security Law imposed on the territory by Beijng, and drew international condemnation and warnings
RSS