Long-range air force drills recently conducted above the East and South China seas, that rattled Taiwan and Japan, are routine and normal military activities, the Chinese Air Force said yesterday.
Chinese military aircraft on Saturday flew between Japan’s Okinawa Island, the Miyako Islands and over waterways near Taiwan.
Japan protested to China over a Chinese complaint that Japanese fighter jets had engaged in “dangerous and unprofessional” behavior when they scrambled as the Chinese aircraft flew near Japanese islands.
In a statement on its official microblog, the Chinese Air Force said the drills were normal military activities.
“This is the air force’s mission, its responsibility, it is lawful, reasonable and fair, and happened as in the past according to plan,” it said.
The air force said it noted foreign media reports of the aircraft types involved, including the H-6K strategic bomber and Su-30 fighter, and that this had “attracted public attention at home and abroad.”
While it did not confirm what aircraft flew in the drills, it showed photographs of both aircraft as part of its microblog statement, without saying when or where the pictures were taken.
“In the past two years of the Chinese Air Force’s holding drills far out at sea, we have dealt with and handled various forms of interference and obstruction, carrying out reconnaissance and early warning, patrol, attack, air refueling and other drills,” it said.
It had improved the air force’s ability to wage battle far out at sea, enabling it to protect the nation’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, it said.
The US government has signed defense cooperation agreements with Japan and the Philippines to boost the deterrence capabilities of countries in the first island chain, a report by the National Security Bureau (NSB) showed. The main countries on the first island chain include the two nations and Taiwan. The bureau is to present the report at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee tomorrow. The US military has deployed Typhon missile systems to Japan’s Yamaguchi Prefecture and Zambales province in the Philippines during their joint military exercises. It has also installed NMESIS anti-ship systems in Japan’s Okinawa
‘WIN-WIN’: The Philippines, and central and eastern European countries are important potential drone cooperation partners, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung said Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) in an interview published yesterday confirmed that there are joint ventures between Taiwan and Poland in the drone industry. Lin made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper). The government-backed Taiwan Excellence Drone International Business Opportunities Alliance and the Polish Chamber of Unmanned Systems on Wednesday last week signed a memorandum of understanding in Poland to develop a “non-China” supply chain for drones and work together on key technologies. Asked if Taiwan prioritized Poland among central and eastern European countries in drone collaboration, Lin
ON ALERT: Taiwan’s partners would issue warnings if China attempted to use Interpol to target Taiwanese, and the global body has mechanisms to prevent it, an official said China has stationed two to four people specializing in Taiwan affairs at its embassies in several democratic countries to monitor and harass Taiwanese, actions that the host nations would not tolerate, National Security Bureau (NSB) Director-General Tsai Ming-yen (蔡明彥) said yesterday. Tsai made the comments at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, which asked him and Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) to report on potential conflicts in the Taiwan Strait and military preparedness. Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) expressed concern that Beijing has posted personnel from China’s Taiwan Affairs Office to its
BACK TO WORK? Prosecutors said they are considering filing an appeal, while the Hsinchu City Government said it has applied for Ann Kao’s reinstatement as mayor The High Court yesterday found suspended Hsinchu mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) not guilty of embezzling assistant fees, reducing her sentence to six months in prison commutable to a fine from seven years and four months. The verdict acquitted Kao of the corruption charge, but found her guilty of causing a public official to commit document forgery. The High Prosecutors’ Office said it is reviewing the ruling and considering whether to file an appeal. The Taipei District Court in July last year sentenced Kao to seven years and four months in prison, along with a four-year deprivation of civil rights, for contravening the Anti-Corruption
RSS