The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Air Force last month made 446 incursions into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ), the Defense Post reported on Thursday.
Last month’s incursions far surpassed the number recorded during the whole of 2020, the report said.
“The median line [of the Taiwan Strait] has long been seen as a way to avoid conflict, but China has begun whittling away at it,” Bonnie Glaser, director of the Asia program at think tank the German Marshall Fund of the US, was cited by Voice of America as saying in a report on Friday.
Photo: AFP / The Ministry of National Defense
China would likely conduct more exercises with the aim of “narrowing Taiwan’s operating space and calling into question its claim to an ADIZ and an [exclusive economic zone],” the report quoted her as saying.
Putting last month’s 446 incursions into context, the report cited publicly available information from the Taiwan ADIZ Violations Tracker database showing that there were only 23 such incursions between September 2020 and July 31.
“They are seeking to wear down Taiwan’s pilots and maintenance crews and instill a sense of psychological despair among the population,” Voice of America quoted Glaser as saying.
Crystal Tu (杜貞儀), assistant research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said that despite US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan on Aug. 2 and 3 — which China has used as an excuse for the incursions — China would eventually have ramped up its military exercises anyway.
The visit was merely a “trigger,” pushing China to do so sooner, she said.
In related news, a military source in Taipei yesterday said that the army plans to hold live-fire exercises in southern Taiwan this week that would test the combat capabilities of its various units.
The Eighth Army Corps would hold the regular Lien Yung drill in Pingtung County’s Joint Operations Training Base Command from tomorrow to Friday, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous.
The army’s Combined Arms Battalion, snipers, tanks, armored vehicles and mortars would be tested during the four-day live-fire exercises, the source said.
The Aviation and Special Forces Command would also dispatch AH-64E Apache and AH-1W Super Cobra helicopters to join the exercises, the source added.
The Lien Yung drill is normally held six times a year. It is the armed forces’ second-largest drill, following the annual Han Kuang exercises that involve all branches of the military.
Indonesia has sent hundreds of riot police to a tiny island after protests broke out against a China-backed project that would displace thousands of residents. About 1,000 people protested in Batam City on Monday over a plan to develop Rempang island into a Chinese-funded economic zone, including the construction of a multibillion-dollar glass factory, that would displace about 7,500 people. Some protesters clashed with security forces outside a government agency, wielding machetes, Molotov cocktails and stones, police said, adding that dozens were arrested. Beijing has poured money into infrastructure and resource projects in Southeast Asia’s biggest economy and its investments have previously caused
CALL FOR PEACE: Czech President Petr Pavel raised concerns about China’s military maneuvers in the Taiwan Strait and its ‘unfriendly action’ in the South China Sea The leaders of three diplomatic allies — Guatemala, Paraguay and Palau — on Tuesday voiced support for Taiwan’s inclusion in the UN on the first day of the UN General Debate in New York. In his address during the 78th UN General Assembly, Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr urged the UN and all parties involved in cross-strait issues to exercise restraint and seek a peaceful resolution. “The well-being and prosperity of nations and their economies are intrinsically linked to global peace and stability,” he said. He also thanked partner nations such as Taiwan, Australia, Japan and the US for providing assistance
‘HARASSMENT’: A record 103 Chinese warplanes were detected in 24 hours, posing severe challenges to security in the Taiwan Strait and the region, the ministry said Taiwan yesterday told China to stop its “destructive unilateral actions” after more than 100 Chinese warplanes and nine navy ships were detected in areas around the nation. The Ministry of National Defense (MND) described the number of warplanes detected in 24 hours as a “recent high,” while Beijing has so far refrained from issuing any official comment on the sorties. “Between the morning of September 17th to 18th, the Ministry of National Defense had detected a total of 103 Chinese aircraft, which was a recent high and has posed severe challenges to the security across the Taiwan Strait and in the region,”
China would be making “a grave strategic mistake” if it tried to attack Taiwan, US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Mark Milley said in an interview with CNN that aired on Sunday. Asked by host Fareed Zakaria whether the US could repel a Chinese invasion of Taiwan, Milley said: “It is entirely possible.” Milley reiterated that the US still maintains the Taiwan Relations Act, and that it wants “a peaceful outcome between Taiwan and the People’s Republic of China, and whatever that is between those two peoples.” “Militarily, I think China would make a grave strategic mistake if they attempted to
RSS