Chinese military aircraft approaching Taiwan over the past two days demonstrates that Beijing is a threat to the entire region, and has shown Taiwanese even more clearly the true nature of China’s government, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said yesterday.
Multiple Chinese aircraft flew across the median line of the Taiwan Strait and into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone on Friday and Saturday. The Ministry of National Defense scrambled jets to intercept them.
Beijing on Friday announced combat drills near the Strait and denounced what it called collusion between the nation and the US.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
The exercises took place while US Undersecretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy and the Environment Keith Krach was in Taipei. Krach is the most senior US Department of State official to visit the nation in four decades.
Tsai yesterday denounced China’s drills, saying that its activities where more than just a threat to Taiwan.
“I believe these activities are no help to China’s international image, and what is more have put Taiwan’s people even more on their guard, understanding even better the true nature of the Chinese communist regime,” she said.
“Additionally, other countries in the region also have a better understanding of the threat posed by China,” she said. “The Chinese communists must restrain themselves, and not provoke.”
Separately, a military source said that Taiwan would not make any provocative moves, but would reserve “the right to launch a defensive first strike” if Chinese forces attack.
In the past, a “first strike” had different definitions and interpretations within the military, sources said, adding that in light of the latest developments, the military earlier this month clearly defined it as “the right to launch a defensive first strike.”
Ministry spokesman Major General Shih Shun-wen (史順文) earlier this month said that in scenarios in which Taiwanese military jets are attacked, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army is preparing to invade Taiwan, or Chinese forces are determined as having made “a clear attacking move and threat,” the military would exercise “the right to launch a defensive first strike,” after the situation has been assessed and authorization has been given.
Due to the growing threat from China, the ministry has held a series of briefings at the Air Force Combat Command to ensure that Taiwan’s fighter jet pilots follow protocol for engaging enemy threats, a military source said.
The military does not know what China’s intentions behind the frequent incursions are, but Taiwan wants to prevent any actions by its pilots that might accidentally trigger a cross-strait war, the source said.
While Beijing has said that it would not strike first or fire the first shot in a potential cross-strait war, it has been ratcheting up its military coercion of Taiwan, the source said.
Taiwan would not fire the first shot, but it would exercise its right to defend itself and would “definitely fire back if fired upon,” the source said.
As per protocol, frontline personnel, following authorization, could proceed to “destroy” the enemy if the routine of “discover, identify, intercept and warning” fails to deter the enemy from advancing, sources said.
The five-day computer-aided war games segment of the annual Han Kuang exercises, which concluded on Friday, revealed that the military does not have enough long-range precision missiles to defend the nation effectively, a source said.
The military would continue to beef up its defense capabilities in that area, amid the growing threat from across the Strait, the source added.
The computerized war games, held from Monday last week to Friday, simulated a full-scale invasion attempt by China.
PREPAREDNESS: Given the difficulty of importing ammunition during wartime, the Ministry of National Defense said it would prioritize ‘coproduction’ partnerships A newly formed unit of the Marine Corps tasked with land-based security operations has recently replaced its aging, domestically produced rifles with more advanced, US-made M4A1 rifles, a source said yesterday. The unnamed source familiar with the matter said the First Security Battalion of the Marine Corps’ Air Defense and Base Guard Group has replaced its older T65K2 rifles, which have been in service since the late 1980s, with the newly received M4A1s. The source did not say exactly when the upgrade took place or how many M4A1s were issued to the battalion. The confirmation came after Chinese-language media reported
A Ministry of Foreign Affairs official yesterday said that a delegation that visited China for an APEC meeting did not receive any kind of treatment that downgraded Taiwan’s sovereignty. Department of International Organizations Director-General Jonathan Sun (孫儉元) said that he and a group of ministry officials visited Shenzhen, China, to attend the APEC Informal Senior Officials’ Meeting last month. The trip went “smoothly and safely” for all Taiwanese delegates, as the Chinese side arranged the trip in accordance with long-standing practices, Sun said at the ministry’s weekly briefing. The Taiwanese group did not encounter any political suppression, he said. Sun made the remarks when
The Taiwanese passport ranked 33rd in a global listing of passports by convenience this month, rising three places from last month’s ranking, but matching its position in January last year. The Henley Passport Index, an international ranking of passports by the number of designations its holder can travel to without a visa, showed that the Taiwan passport enables holders to travel to 139 countries and territories without a visa. Singapore’s passport was ranked the most powerful with visa-free access to 192 destinations out of 227, according to the index published on Tuesday by UK-based migration investment consultancy firm Henley and Partners. Japan’s and
BROAD AGREEMENT: The two are nearing a trade deal to reduce Taiwan’s tariff to 15% and a commitment for TSMC to build five more fabs, a ‘New York Times’ report said Taiwan and the US have reached a broad consensus on a trade deal, the Executive Yuan’s Office of Trade Negotiations said yesterday, after a report said that Washington is set to reduce Taiwan’s tariff rate to 15 percent. The New York Times on Monday reported that the two nations are nearing a trade deal to reduce Taiwan’s tariff rate to 15 percent and commit Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) to building at least five more facilities in the US. “The agreement, which has been under negotiation for months, is being legally scrubbed and could be announced this month,” the paper said,
RSS