The air force yesterday warned off several Chinese fighter jets that briefly entered Taiwan’s air defense identification zone to its southwest, the Ministry of National Defense said.
The Su-30 fighters, some of China’s most advanced jets, were given verbal warnings to leave and Taiwanese air force jets “drove away” the intruders, the ministry said in a short statement issued at 12:30pm.
“The defense ministry is fully aware of the situation in the waters and airspace surrounding Taiwan and is taking measures to protect our territory,” it said.
Photo: CNA
It did not provide other details regarding the intrusion, such as how many Chinese fighter jets were involved or the time of the incident.
Taiwan has complained that China has stepped up military activities in the past few months, menacing Taiwan even as the world deals with the COVID-19 pandemic.
China says such exercises are nothing unusual.
The US has also stepped up its military activities near Taiwan, with semi-regular navy voyages through the Taiwan Strait.
A US C-40A Clipper transport plane also flew over the nation yesterday, the ministry said in a separate statement, following revelations by air radar trackers such as Golf9 and AirNav RadarBox.
“The US aircraft entered our airspace after making a prior application in accordance with proper procedures. It did not land at any of our airports,” it said.
Images posted on Golf9’s Twitter feed and AirNav RadarBox’s Web site showed that the US Navy transport plane flew in a southerly direction over Taiwan’s west coast yesterday morning after taking off from Okinawa.
Golf9 described the US plane’s flight path as “rare,” because US military aircraft usually only operate over international waters or in airspace around Taiwan.
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
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
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
The China Coast Guard has seized control of a disputed reef near a major Philippine military outpost in the South China Sea, Beijing’s state media said, adding to longstanding territorial tensions with Manila. Beijing claims sovereignty over almost all of the South China Sea and has waved away competing assertions from other countries as well as an international ruling that its position has no legal basis. China and the Philippines have engaged in months of confrontations in the contested waters, and Manila is taking part in sweeping joint military drills with the US which Beijing has slammed as destabilizing. The Chinese coast guard
RSS