The air force on Monday scrambled to warn off approaching Chinese jets, the first time they were spotted near Taiwan’s air space at night, the Ministry of National Defense said.
Taiwan has repeatedly said that China has stepped up its drills near the nation when it should be focusing its efforts on combating the spread of COVID-19.
An unspecified number of Chinese J-11 fighters and KJ-500 airborne early warning and control aircraft flew into the waters southwest of Taiwan for nighttime exercises, the ministry said late on Monday.
Photo: EPA-EFE
They came close to Taiwan’s air defense identification zone at about 7pm, ministry spokesman Major General Shih Shun-wen (史順文) said.
“After our air reconnaissance and patrol aircraft responded appropriately, and broadcast [an order] to drive them away, the [Chinese] communist aircraft flew away from our air defense identification zone,” he said.
The maneuvers were part of the Chinese squadron’s nighttime training mission, the ministry said.
The military keeps close watch on the Taiwan Strait and its environs to ensure the nation’s security, and people have no cause for alarm, it said.
The last time that the Chinese military conducted a similar mission near Taiwan’s airspace was on Feb. 28, when an unspecified number of Chinese H-6 bombers flew over the waters southwest of Taiwan, according to ministry records.
There was no immediate comment from China’s military on the latest drills.
China has been flying what it calls “island encirclement” drills on and off since 2016 when President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) first took office.
The COVID-19 pandemic has worsened already poor relations between Taiwan and China, with the two sides accusing each other of spreading fake news, and Taiwan particularly angered by Beijing blocking its access to the WHO.
‘NO SECURITY RISK’: The Railway Bureau reassured the public that the technicians’ activities were limited to technical guidance and did not involve sensitive systems The Railway Bureau yesterday said it had invited eight Chinese technicians to assist with an airport MRT construction project. The bureau issued the confirmation after an Internet user said Chinese nationals had entered the construction zone of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport’s Terminal 3 project. They asked why “individuals from an enemy state” were allowed access to such a major national infrastructure project, which raised serious concerns over Taiwan’s industrial safety, sensitive systems and information security. The bureau’s Northern Region Engineering Branch Office said subcontractor Taiwan Handle Industrial Co (台灣手把工業) of the Taoyuan airport MRT’s “Contract No. CU05 Project A14 Station Civil, MEP &
The National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology yesterday showcased its locally developed variants of the Vision 60 robotic patrol dog, which it plans to deploy on the nation’s outlying territories in the South China Sea. The variants were produced under the Joint Lab project — created by the institute and domestic companies — and assembled with domestically produced motors, lenses and artificial intelligence (AI) systems alongside licensed tech from the US, Missile and Rocket Systems Research Division deputy director Jen Kuo-kang (任國光) told the media event at a military base in Taipei’s Dazhi (大直) area. Taiwan has built up its strengths
NOT IMMEDIATE: Taiwan has a chance to appeal the proposed 10 percent tariff before it starts, while other countries face a 12.5 percent tariff from the trade office Taiwan is among 60 economies determined by the US to have failed to impose or enforce a ban on the importation of goods produced with forced labor, according to a notice released on Tuesday by the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR), which proposed imposing an additional 10 percent or more tariff on them. The USTR in a statement said that following an investigation, it had determined under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 that the failure of the 60 economies to impose and effectively enforce a prohibition on the importation of goods produced with forced labor is
RIGHT DIRECTION: Taiwan’s efforts to prevent forced labor include a proposal to ‘fully prohibit’ employers from withholding workers’ documents, an official said Taiwan is to establish a mechanism to restrict imports of goods linked to forced labor, the Executive Yuan said yesterday, after the US proposed imposing additional tariffs on Taiwanese goods over labor concerns. “The Ministry of Labor and the Ministry of Economic Affairs are to establish an interministerial review procedure,” Executive Yuan spokesperson Michelle Lee (李慧芝) said at a news briefing in Taipei. “The government is to use the Foreign Trade Act [貿易法] as the legal basis to restrict imports of goods produced with forced labor” and bring its supply chain governance more in line with international standards on human rights, resilience
RSS