The nation’s military fully complies with international rules and guidelines when responding to Chinese military drills, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday, vowing to continue defending Taiwan in accordance with international law.
China on Thursday launched four days of military drills around Taiwan proper in response to US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taipei.
The drills were expected to end on Sunday, but neither Beijing nor Taipei confirmed their conclusion, although the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said it had seen some evidence suggesting at least a partial drawdown.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of National Defense
However, China yesterday said the drills would continue, saying “the eastern theater of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army [PLA] continued to carry out practical joint exercises and training in the sea and airspace around Taiwan island.”
The exercises, the PLA’s Eastern Command said, were “focusing on organizing joint anti-submarine and sea assault operations.”
Beijing also carried out live-fire drills yesterday in parts of the South China Sea and Yellow Sea.
The Taiwanese defense ministry on Sunday said it detected 66 aircraft and 14 warships conducting naval and air exercises.
Taiwan has responded by putting its military on alert and deploying ships, planes and other assets to monitor Chinese aircraft, ships and drones that are “simulating attacks on the island of Taiwan and our ships at sea,” as well as crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait.
Although not an internationally recognized delineation, the median line has been tacitly accepted by both sides since the 1950s, Shen Shih-wei (沈世偉), head of the ministry’s Judicial Department, told a news conference in Taipei yesterday.
Its existence is evident, but China’s creation of a restricted zone across the line challenges this nearly 70-year-old fact, he said.
The restricted zone constricts Taiwan’s training airspace, potentially affecting the normal operation of international air and waterways, Shen said.
This kind of targeted intimidation is contrary to Article 2, Section 4 of the UN Charter, which states: “All members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the purposes of the United Nations,” Shen said.
Asked how the military monitors Chinese actions, Lieutenant General Yan Yu-hsien (顏有賢), Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence, said it uses joint intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance methods.
For instance, when a Chinese aircraft or ship crosses the median line, the military — aside from broadcasting a warning — also communicates with warplanes and missile tracking systems to gain a thorough understanding of the situation, Yan said.
Warfare has changed dramatically in the Internet age, said Major General Chen Yu-lin (陳育琳), deputy director of the Political Warfare Bureau.
Disrupting the civilian Internet, cyberattacks would deepen the confrontation and potentially mean the difference between victory and defeat on the battlefield, she said.
China began cognitive warfare operations before the military drills, posting 272 messages from Monday last week to yesterday that were disseminated widely, ministry data showed.
The messages can be categorized into three types: creating a sense of unification by force, destroying trust in the government and disrupting morale, it said.
Navy Chief of Staff Vice Admiral Chiang Cheng-kuo (蔣正國) told reporters that China spread misinformation during the exercises.
It falsely claimed that its warships encroached on Taiwan’s territorial contiguous zone, but the navy confirmed that no PLA ships entered the nation’s territory, he said.
A country’s contiguous territorial zone extends for 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from its coast, while territorial waters extend 12 nautical miles. The military has not officially said whether PLA warships entered the nation’s contiguous zone.
Additional reporting by AP and AFP
Japan has deployed long-range missiles in a southwestern region near China, the Japanese defense minister said yesterday, at a time when ties with Beijing are at their lowest in recent years. The missiles were installed in Kumamoto in the southern region of Kyushu, as Japan is attempting to shore up its military capacity as China steps up naval activity in the East China Sea. “Standoff defense capabilities enable us to counter the threat of enemy forces attempting to invade our country ... while ensuring the safety of our personnel,” Japanese Minister of Defense Shinjiro Koizumi said. “This is an extremely important initiative for
MORE POPULAR: Taiwan Pass sales increased by 59 percent during the first quarter compared with the same period last year, the Tourism Administration said The Tourism Administration yesterday said that it has streamlined the Taiwan Pass, with two versions available for purchase beginning today. The tourism agency has made the pass available to international tourists since 2024, allowing them to access the high-speed rail, Taiwan Railway Corp services, four MRT systems and four Taiwan Tourist Shuttles. Previously, five types of Taiwan Pass were available, but some tourists have said that the offerings were too complicated. The agency said only two types of Taiwan Pass would be available, starting from a three-day pass with the high-speed rail and a three-day pass with Taiwan Railway Corp. The former costs NT$2,800
POLLS CONCERNS: There are concerns within the KMT that a Cheng Li-wun-Xi Jinping meeting could trigger a voter backlash in elections in November Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) accepted an invitation from Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) to visit next month, her party and Chinese state media reported yesterday. Cheng, who took up her role in November last year, “gladly accepted” the invitation to lead a delegation to China, the KMT said in a statement, confirming a Xinhua news agency report. Cheng “looks forward to joint efforts by both parties to advance the peaceful development of cross-strait relations, promote cross-strait exchanges and cooperation, and work for peace in the Taiwan Strait and greater well-being for people on both sides,” the statement said. Chinese
SIGNIFICANT TO THE WORLD: The delegation’s visit aims to send a clear message that bipartisan support for Taiwan is consistent, US Senator Jeanne Shaheen said The US Senate’s bipartisan support for Taiwan remains strong and Taiwan-US ties would continue for decades to come, a US Senate delegation said in Taipei yesterday, while calling on the legislature to swiftly pass a special defense budget bill. A US delegation led by Democratic US Senator Jeanne Shaheen and Republican US Senator John Curtis — both members of the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations — arrived in Taiwan yesterday for a two-day visit. The other senators of the delegation included Senate Taiwan Caucus cochair Thom Tillis and Senate Committee on Armed Services senior member Jacky Rosen. Shaheen told a news
RSS