China on Sunday sent 39 warplanes — mostly fighter jets — into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ), in its second-largest single-day incursion, the Ministry of National Defense said.
Thirteen warplanes entered the zone yesterday, it added.
The ministry late on Sunday said that the air force scrambled aircraft to broadcast warnings and deployed air-defense missile systems.
Photo: AP
The Chinese warplanes included 24 J-16 fighters — which experts say are among China’s favorite jets for testing Taiwan’s air defenses — 10 J-10s and one nuclear-capable H-6 bomber.
Yesterday’s incursion included eight J-16s and two J-16Ds — a jet introduced at an air show last year that is capable of neutralizing radar and communication systems, the ministry said.
On Oct. 4 last year, 56 aircraft entered the zone, the largest single-day incursion since the military began releasing such data in September 2020.
Last year, the ministry recorded 969 incursions by Chinese warplanes into Taiwan’s ADIZ, a database compiled by Agence France-Presse showed — more than double the number from 2020.
Yesterday, defense expert Lin Ying-yu (林穎佑) said that Beijing was trying to show its military might to world powers Japan and the US, which over the weekend concluded a round of drills off Okinawa.
Chieh Chung (揭仲), an associate research fellow at the National Policy Foundation in Taipei, agreed, saying that the incursions did not pose a serious threat to Taiwan’s security, but were intended to show Tokyo and Washington that Beijing would not back down from a show of force.
The incursions were also far away from Okinawa to ensure that China gets its message across without sparking a conflict, he said.
The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force conducted joint exercises with the US Navy south of Okinawa from Monday last week to Saturday, NHK reported.
The latest joint exercise was apparently aimed at displaying their solid ties amid China’s increasing maritime activities, reports said.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said in an interview with the Australian Strategic Policy Institute’s podcast The Bigger Picture that the international community should be vigilant of China as it seeks to expand its global influence.
Amid China’s nearly 1,000 incursions last year, Beijing continued to suppress Taiwan’s international presence, a ministry statement quoted Wu as saying.
China’s ambition apparently does not stop at Taiwan, Wu added, citing as an example the presence of Chinese surveillance ships near US-Australian military exercises in July last year.
MAKING WAVES: China’s maritime militia could become a nontraditional threat in war, clogging up shipping lanes to prevent US or Japanese intervention, a report said About 1,900 Chinese ships flying flags of convenience and fishing vessels that participated in China’s military exercises around Taiwan last month and in January last year have been listed for monitoring, Coast Guard Administration (CGA) Deputy Director-General Hsieh Ching-chin (謝慶欽) said yesterday. Following amendments to the Commercial Port Act (商港法) and the Law of Ships (船舶法) last month, the CGA can designate possible berthing areas or deny ports of call for vessels suspected of loitering around areas where undersea cables can be accessed, Oceans Affairs Council Minister Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) said. The list of suspected ships, originally 300, had risen to about
DAREDEVIL: Honnold said it had always been a dream of his to climb Taipei 101, while a Netflix producer said the skyscraper was ‘a real icon of this country’ US climber Alex Honnold yesterday took on Taiwan’s tallest building, becoming the first person to scale Taipei 101 without a rope, harness or safety net. Hundreds of spectators gathered at the base of the 101-story skyscraper to watch Honnold, 40, embark on his daredevil feat, which was also broadcast live on Netflix. Dressed in a red T-shirt and yellow custom-made climbing shoes, Honnold swiftly moved up the southeast face of the glass and steel building. At one point, he stepped onto a platform midway up to wave down at fans and onlookers who were taking photos. People watching from inside
Japan’s strategic alliance with the US would collapse if Tokyo were to turn away from a conflict in Taiwan, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said yesterday, but distanced herself from previous comments that suggested a possible military response in such an event. Takaichi expressed her latest views on a nationally broadcast TV program late on Monday, where an opposition party leader criticized her for igniting tensions with China with the earlier remarks. Ties between Japan and China have sunk to the worst level in years after Takaichi said in November that a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan could bring about a Japanese
STREAMLINED: The dedicated funding would allow the US to transfer equipment to Taiwan when needed and order upgraded replacements for stockpiles, a source said The US House of Representatives on Thursday passed a defense appropriations bill totaling US$838.7 billion, of which US$1 billion is to be allocated to reinforcing security cooperation with Taiwan and US$150 million to replace defense articles provided to the nation. These are part of the Consolidated Appropriation Act, which the US House yesterday passed with 341 votes in favor and 88 against. The act must be passed by the US Senate before Friday next week to avoid another government shutdown. The US House Committee on Appropriations on Monday unveiled the act, saying that it allocates US$1 billion for the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative
RSS