The number of Chinese incursions into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ) last year was the highest since 1996, with the majority of them occurring in the zone’s southwest, a government-funded report has said.
Chinese military aircraft entered the nation’s ADIZ on 91 days from Jan. 1 to Nov. 30, the Institute for National Defense and Security Research said in a report on the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA).
Last year also saw the highest number of long-distance training missions by the Chinese military around Taiwan, the institute said, citing just six and 20 missions in 2016 and 2017 respectively.
Photo: Reuters
During the 1995-1996 Taiwan Strait missile crisis, China conducted a series of ballistic missile tests in the waters around Taiwan in the run-up to the nation’s first direct presidential election.
Ministry of National Defense spokesman Major General Shih Shun-wen (史順文) has said that the PLA flew about 380 sorties into the southwest ADIZ last year, a trend that has not been seen in the past.
The institute, which is affiliated with the ministry, said the Chinese intrusions are connected to the frequency of US military activities in the area, and are a warning over the warming of relations between Taiwan and the US.
There could be several reasons for the increase in intrusions, one of which is that China might be testing Taiwan’s military response capabilities, as the median line of the Taiwan Strait does not extend into the southwest ADIZ.
The PLA’s actions are also an effort to increase its presence in an attempt to expand China’s sphere of influence, the institute said.
Another reason could be to intimidate the Taiwanese military and exert pressure on its defenses on the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙島) in the South China Sea.
An important factor to consider is that China is using marine patrol aircraft to collect underwater and other related information in the area, which is the main passageway for vessels and submarines entering the western Pacific, it said.
The PLA is also hoping to deter Taiwanese and US submarine activity in the region, it added.
The institute said that in the long-term, the intrusions could offer Taiwan certain advantages, such as increasing the legitimacy of US sales of offensive weapons to Taiwan.
FREEDOM OF NAVIGATION: The UK would continue to reinforce ties with Taiwan ‘in a wide range of areas’ as a part of a ‘strong unofficial relationship,’ a paper said The UK plans to conduct more freedom of navigation operations in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Lammy told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. British Member of Parliament Desmond Swayne said that the Royal Navy’s HMS Spey had passed through the Taiwan Strait “in pursuit of vital international freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.” Swayne asked Lammy whether he agreed that it was “proper and lawful” to do so, and if the UK would continue to carry out similar operations. Lammy replied “yes” to both questions. The
SECOND SPEECH: All political parties should work together to defend democracy, protect Taiwan and resist the CCP, despite their differences, the president said President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday discussed how pro-Taiwan and pro-Republic of China (ROC) groups can agree to maintain solidarity on the issue of protecting Taiwan and resisting the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The talk, delivered last night at Taoyuan’s Hakka Youth Association, was the second in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. Citing Taiwanese democracy pioneer Chiang Wei-shui’s (蔣渭水) slogan that solidarity brings strength, Lai said it was a call for political parties to find consensus amid disagreements on behalf of bettering the nation. All political parties should work together to defend democracy, protect Taiwan and resist
By refusing to agree spending increases to appease US President Donald Trump, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez threatened to derail a summit that NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte needs to run smoothly for the sake of the military alliance’s future survival. Ahead of yesterday’s gathering in The Hague, Netherlands, things were going off the rails. European officials have expressed irritation at the spoiler role that Sanchez is playing when their No. 1 task is to line up behind a pledge to raise defense spending to 5 percent of GDP. Rutte needed to keep Spain in line while preventing others such as Slovakia
SHIFT PRIORITIES: The US should first help Taiwan respond to actions China is already taking, instead of focusing too heavily on deterring a large-scale invasion, an expert said US Air Force leaders on Thursday voiced concerns about the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) missile capabilities and its development of a “kill web,” and said that the US Department of Defense’s budget request for next year prioritizes bolstering defenses in the Indo-Pacific region due to the increasing threat posed by China. US experts said that a full-scale Chinese invasion of Taiwan is risky and unlikely, with Beijing more likely to pursue coercive tactics such as political warfare or blockades to achieve its goals. Senior air force and US Space Force leaders, including US Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink and