A total of 71 Chinese military aircraft and seven naval vessels were detected around Taiwan from 6am on Sunday to 6am yesterday, the Ministry of National Defense said.
It was the most Chinese military craft detected within a 24-hour period so far this year.
Forty-seven aircraft were spotted either crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait or entering Taiwan’s southwestern air defense identification zone (ADIZ), the ministry said.
Photo: AP
The armed forces monitored the situation, and tasked combat air patrol aircraft, navy vessels and land-based missile systems to respond to the Chinese activities.
The Chinese planes included 12 Shenyang J-11 and six Sukhoi Su-30 fighter jets, one CASC Rainbow CH-4 uncrewed aerial vehicle, six Chengdu J-10 and 18 J-16 fighter jets, one Shaanxi Y-8 EW, one Y-8 ASW, and one KJ-500 airborne early warning and control plane, as well as one Guizhou WZ-7 Soaring Dragon drone, the ministry said.
The ministry on Sunday evening said the Chinese maneuvers amounted to intimidation and psychological warfare aimed at manipulating public opinion in Taiwan.
It said Taiwan-US cooperation is conducive to freedom, openness, and peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region, and that the military would continue to improve its preparations based on enemy threats and self-defense needs.
Taiwan’s military is absolutely determined, capable and confident in defending the nation’s sovereignty and ensuring its security, it said.
Speaking at a legislative hearing yesterday, Mainland Affairs Council Minister Chiu Tai-san (邱太三) said he would issue a solemn protest over the incursions.
The ministry every day releases data on Chinese military incursions, not only regarding the nation’s ADIZ, but also crossings of the median line, Chiu said, adding that he is “of course very dissatisfied” with China’s actions.
The sorties by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) came after US President Joe Biden on Friday signed into law the Fiscal 2023 National Defense Authorization Act, which includes provisions to authorize US$2 billion in loans to Taiwan to buy US-made weapons.
The act also includes a nonbinding provision that Taiwanese naval forces be included in the Rim of the Pacific military exercises to be carried out by the US military and its allies in the region in 2024.
However, the act does not require the US administration to invite Taiwan to join the drills.
Beijing has strongly objected to the act, seeing it as an attempt to change the “status quo” by challenging the “one China” policy and Sino-US joint agreements on how to handle the issue of Taiwan.
On Sunday, the PLA Eastern Theater Command held joint combat readiness patrols and “strike drills” in the sea and airspace around Taiwan.
“This is a resolute response to the current US-Taiwan provocation,” the command said.
Additional reporting by Chen Yu-fu
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
CROSS-STRAIT CONCERNS: At the same US Congress hearing, Mira Resnick said a US government shutdown could affect weapons sales and licenses to allies such as Taiwan A Chinese blockade of Taiwan would be a “monster risk” for Beijing and likely to fail, while a military invasion would be extremely difficult, senior Pentagon officials told the US Congress on Tuesday. Growing worries of a conflict come as China has ramped up military pressure on Taiwan, holding large-scale war games simulating a blockade on the nation, while conducting near-daily warplane incursions and sending Chinese vessels around its waters. US Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs Ely Ratner said a blockade would be “a monster risk for the PRC [People’s Republic of China].” “It would likely not succeed, and it
IMPORTS: Fifty-four million imported eggs with a value of more than NT$200 million had to be destroyed, mostly because they expired in storage facilities Minister of Agriculture Chen Chi-chung (陳吉仲) last night announced that he would resign from his post. Local media on Sunday reported that Chen had resigned due to controversy over the ministry’s egg import program. Later that same evening, the Executive Yuan said that Premier Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) had asked the minister to stay on to resolve the issue. Chen Chi-chung last night made public his decision to resign on Facebook, saying that this time he would not be dissuaded. Chen Chi-chung earlier yesterday apologized for the furor surrounding the egg import program, but added that misinformation had made the problems worse. The government was
‘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,”
RSS