Following China’s assertion on Monday that there is no “median line” in the Taiwan Strait, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday pledged to defend the nation’s airspace during a visit to an air force base in Penghu, saying that Taiwan cannot allow others to flex their military muscle in its territorial airspace.
Tsai praised the “heroic performance” of the pilots of the Indigenous Defense Fighters who have been intercepting Chinese People’s Liberation Army Air Force planes in recent days.
“I have a lot of confidence in you. As soldiers of the Republic of China [ROC], how could we let enemies strut around in our own airspace?” she said, implicitly rejecting Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Wang Wenbin’s (汪文斌) comment on Monday that the median line of the Taiwan Strait does not exist, because ‘Taiwan is an inalienable part of China.”
Photo: CNA
“I’m aware that facing the provocative behavior of the communist planes that have encircled the island and damaged regional peace in recent days. Your duty at the front line of the airspace in Penghu must be even heavier,” Tsai told the members of the Tien Chu (天駒, Heavenly Colt) unit, who are stationed at Penghu Airport from April to September every year.
“Our men and women in uniform have the will & ability to defend #Taiwan & are not intimidated by #PRC intrusions in our airspace. We are dedicated to maintaining peace & stability in the region,” she later wrote in English on Twitter.
As of yesterday, a total of 43 Chinese air force planes have flown into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone since Wednesday last week, with some crossing over the median line of the Strait on Friday and Saturday, the Ministry of National Defense’s Web site showed.
Photo: CNA
“The CCP [Chinese Communist Party] claims there’s no median line of the #Taiwan Strait after #PLA [People’s Liberation Army] warplanes crossed it repeatedly. I call on the international community to condemn the CCP for its dangerous & provocative words & deeds threatening peace & the status quo. #China must back off!” Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) wrote on Twitter yesterday.
His comment followed a press release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Taipei on Monday that said Wang’s statement would sabotage the cross-strait “status quo,” just as Beijing had ruined Hong Kong’s “one country, two systems” framework by imposing a National Security Law on the territory.
It called on Beijing to stop its blatant expansionism and urged the international community to condemn Beijing’s behavior.
In rejecting the median line, Beijing shows no regard for regional security, said Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), director of the Division of National Defense Resources and Industries at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research.
The median line, established by the US in the 1950s, created a buffer zone that has been tacitly recognized by Beijing for decades, he said.
The world must be told that China is unilaterally changing the cross-strait “status quo,” Su said.
He said that he considered the possibility of a cross-strait conflict to be low, as China provoking a military conflict would push Taiwan closer to other democratic nations.
Meanwhile, US Representative Ted Yoho on Monday said both Taiwan and the US need to be ready to confront the PLA.
“#Taiwan continues to prepare for the very real possibility of a Chinese PLA invasion by building up its defense posture. The US must be ready to come to the aid of our democratic partner by supporting the #TaiwanInvasionPreventionAct,” Yoho wrote on Twitter, referring to a bill that he introduced in July that would establish a limited authorization for a US president to use military force to protect Taiwan against an armed attack.
Additional reporting by Reuters
Beijing’s continued provocations in the Taiwan Strait reveal its intention to unilaterally change the “status quo” in the area, the US Department of State said on Saturday, calling for a peaceful resolution to cross-strait issues. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) reported that four China Coast Guard patrol vessels entered restricted and prohibited waters near Kinmen County on Friday and again on Saturday. A State Department spokesperson said that Washington was aware of the incidents, and urged all parties to exercise restraint and refrain from unilaterally changing the “status quo.” “Maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is in line with our [the
EXTENDED RANGE: Hsiung Sheng missiles, 100 of which might be deployed by the end of the year, could reach Chinese command posts and airport runways, a source said A NT$16.9 billion (US$534.93 million) project to upgrade the military’s missile defense systems would be completed this year, allowing the deployment of at least 100 long-range Hsiung Sheng missiles and providing more deterrence against China, military sources said on Saturday. Hsiung Sheng missiles are an extended-range version of the Hsiung Feng IIE (HF-2E) surface-to-surface cruise missile, and are believed to have a range of up to 1,200km, which would allow them to hit targets well inside China. They went into mass production in 2022, the sources said. The project is part of a special budget for the Ministry of National Defense aimed at
READY TO WORK: Taiwan is eager to cooperate and is hopeful that like-minded states will continue to advocate for its inclusion in regional organizations, Lai said Maintaining the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait, and peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region must be a top priority, president-elect William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday after meeting with a delegation of US academics. Leaders of the G7, US President Joe Biden and other international heads of state have voiced concerns about the situation in the Strait, as stability in the region is necessary for a safe, peaceful and prosperous world, Lai said. The vice president, who is to be inaugurated in May, welcomed the delegation and thanked them for their support for Taiwan and issues concerning the Strait. The international community
COOPERATION: Two crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank off Kinmen were rescued, two were found dead and another two were still missing at press time The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) was yesterday working with Chinese rescuers to find two missing crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank southwest of Kinmen County yesterday, killing two crew. The joint operation managed to rescue two of the boat’s six crewmembers, but two were already dead when they were pulled from the water, the agency said in a statement. Rescuers are still searching for two others from the Min Long Yu 61222, a boat registered in China’s Fujian Province that capsized and sank 1.03 nautical miles (1.9km) southwest of Dongding Island (東碇), it added. CGA Director-General Chou Mei-wu (周美伍) told a