Eight Chinese warplanes yesterday crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait and flew close to waters under Taipei’s control, the Ministry of National Defense said.
The incursions occurred at about 8am and were part of what the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) calls “joint combat readiness patrols,” ministry spokesman Major General Sun Li-fang (孫立方) told a news conference in Taipei.
Nineteen Chinese warplanes were detected around Taiwan at the time, including an unspecified number of J-10 and J-16 fighter jets, Sun said, adding that eight of those breached the median line and approached the outer boundary of the contiguous zone, which is 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from Taiwan’s shore, Sun said.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
In addition to the aircraft, five PLA ships were detected in waters around Taiwan, Sun said.
The military used its joint intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance system to closely monitor the PLA’s activities, and deployed aircraft, vessels and coastal defense missile systems in response, he said.
The Chinese Ministry of National Defense did not answer calls seeking comment.
The PLA’s Eastern Theater Command yesterday published pictures on WeChat of J-16 fighter jets taking off on a training mission “far out at sea,” saying it happened “recently.”
Without providing details, the command said the aircraft carried out “tactical long-range flight training” involving in-flight refueling that covered “thousands of kilometers.”
Minister of National Defense Chiu Kuo-cheng (邱國正) said during an interpellation session at the Legislative Yuan on March 6 that Taiwan’s armed forces would open fire on intruders if they entered Taiwan’s territorial waters or airspace.
PLA aircraft and ships entered the contiguous zone and approached Taiwan’s territorial waters and airspace during large-scale military exercises China conducted around Taiwan in August last year after then-US House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taipei, Chiu said at the time.
If they had breached Taiwan’s territorial waters or airspace, the armed forces would have engaged, he said.
However, he said that to avoid giving the PLA reason to attack Taiwan, the military has always made a point of exercising self-restraint.
Additional reporting by AFP and Reuters
In his National Day Rally speech on Sunday, Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) quoted the Taiwanese song One Small Umbrella (一支小雨傘) to describe his nation’s situation. Wong’s use of such a song shows Singapore’s familiarity with Taiwan’s culture and is a perfect reflection of exchanges between the two nations, Representative to Singapore Tung Chen-yuan (童振源) said yesterday in a post on Facebook. Wong quoted the song, saying: “As the rain gets heavier, I will take care of you, and you,” in Mandarin, using it as a metaphor for Singaporeans coming together to face challenges. Other Singaporean politicians have also used Taiwanese songs
NORTHERN STRIKE: Taiwanese military personnel have been training ‘in strategic and tactical battle operations’ in Michigan, a former US diplomat said More than 500 Taiwanese troops participated in this year’s Northern Strike military exercise held at Lake Michigan by the US, a Pentagon-run news outlet reported yesterday. The Michigan National Guard-sponsored drill involved 7,500 military personnel from 36 nations and territories around the world, the Stars and Stripes said. This year’s edition of Northern Strike, which concluded on Sunday, simulated a war in the Indo-Pacific region in a departure from its traditional European focus, it said. The change indicated a greater shift in the US armed forces’ attention to a potential conflict in Asia, it added. Citing a briefing by a Michigan National Guard senior
CHIPMAKING INVESTMENT: J.W. Kuo told legislators that Department of Investment Review approval would be needed were Washington to seek a TSMC board seat Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) yesterday said he received information about a possible US government investment in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and an assessment of the possible effect on the firm requires further discussion. If the US were to invest in TSMC, the plan would need to be reviewed by the Department of Investment Review, Kuo told reporters ahead of a hearing of the legislature’s Economics Committee. Kuo’s remarks came after US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on Tuesday said that the US government is looking into the federal government taking equity stakes in computer chip manufacturers that
CLAMPING DOWN: At the preliminary stage on Jan. 1 next year, only core personnel of the military, the civil service and public schools would be subject to inspections Regular checks are to be conducted from next year to clamp down on military personnel, civil servants and public-school teachers with Chinese citizenship or Chinese household registration, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. Article 9-1 of the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例) stipulates that Taiwanese who obtain Chinese household registration or a Chinese passport would be deprived of their Taiwanese citizenship and lose their right to work in the military, public service or public schools, it said. To identify and prevent the illegal employment of holders of Chinese ID cards or
RSS