The increased frequency of China’s military activities around Taiwan has raised the risk of events “getting out of hand” and sparking an accidental clash, Minister of National Defense Chiu Kuo-cheng (邱國正) said yesterday.
In the past two weeks dozens of fighters, drones, bombers and other aircraft, as well as warships and the Chinese aircraft carrier Shandong, have operated nearby, Taiwan has said.
China has in the past few years carried out many such drills around Taiwan.
Photo: AFP / handout / Ministry of National Defense
Asked by reporters on the sidelines of the legislature’s plenary session whether there was a risk of an accidental incident sparking a broader conflict given the frequency of China’s activities, Chiu said that “this is something we are very worried about.”
Warships from China’s southern and eastern theater commands have been operating together off Taiwan’s east coast, he added.
“The risks of activities involving aircraft, ships and weapons will increase, and both sides must pay attention,” Chiu said.
China has not commented on the drills around Taiwan, and the Chinese Ministry of National Defense has not responded to requests for comment.
Chiu said that when the Shandong was at sea, which Taiwan first reported on Monday last week, it was operating as the “opposing force” in the drills.
China’s Eastern Theater Command was the “attacking force,” simulating a battle scenario, Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense spokesman Major General Sun Li-fang (孫立方) said.
Taiwan’s traditional military planning for a potential conflict has been to use its mountainous east coast, especially the two major air bases there, as a place to regroup and preserve its forces given it does not directly face China unlike the west coast.
However, China has increasingly been flexing its muscles off Taiwan’s east coast, and generally displaying its ability to operate much further away from its own coastline.
China normally performs large-scale exercises from July to September, Taiwan’s ministry said.
The ministry yesterday said that China had largely dialed back its drills, reporting that over the previous 24-hour period it had only spotted two Chinese aircraft operating in its air defense identification zone.
Taipei has said that it would remain calm and not escalate the situation, but it would not allow “repeated provocations” from China, whose forces have so far not entered Taiwan’s territorial seas or airspace.
In related news, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs Yoko Kamikawa, Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong (黃英賢) and Indian Minister of External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on Friday reaffirmed their countries’ opposition to any unilateral attempts to change the “status quo” in the Indo-Pacific region.
The ministers from the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) grouping of nations made the statement during a meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.
“The Quad reiterates its steadfast commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific that is inclusive and resilient,” a joint readout of their meeting said.
“We reaffirm our conviction that international law, respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, and the maintenance of peace and security in the maritime domain underpin the development and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific,” it said. “We emphasize that disputes should be resolved peacefully and in accordance with international law, without the threat or use of force.”
Additional reporting by staff writer
North Korea tested nuclear-capable rocket launchers, state media reported yesterday, a day after Seoul detected the launch of about 10 ballistic missiles. The test comes after South Korean and US forces launched their springtime military drills, due to run until Thursday. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Saturday oversaw the testing of the multiple rocket launcher system (MRLS), the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. The test involved 12 600mm-caliber ultra-precision multiple rocket launchers and two artillery companies, it said. Kim said the drill gave Pyongyang’s enemies, within the 420km striking range, a sense of “uneasiness” and “a deep understanding
RECOGNITION: Former Fijian prime minister Mahendra Chaudhry said that Taiwan’s New Southbound Policy serves as a stabilizing force in the Indo-Pacific region Taiwan can lead the unification of the Chinese people, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and former Polish president Lech Walesa said in Taipei yesterday, adding that as the world order is changing, peaceful discussion would find good solutions, and that the use of force and coercion would always fail. Walesa made the remarks during his keynote address at a luncheon of the Yushan Forum in Taipei, titled “Indo-Pacific Partnership Prospects: Taiwan’s Values, Technology and Resilience,” organized by the Taiwan-Asia Exchange Foundation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Walesa said that he had been at the forefront of a big peaceful revolution and “if
North Korea yesterday fired about 10 ballistic missiles to the sea toward Japan, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said, days after Pyongyang warned of “terrible consequences” over ongoing South Korea-US military drills. Pyongyang recently dashed hopes of a diplomatic thaw with Seoul, Washington’s security ally, describing its latest peace efforts as a “clumsy, deceptive farce.” Seoul’s military detected “around 10 ballistic missiles launched from the Sunan area in North Korea toward the East Sea [Sea of Japan] at around 1:20pm,” JCS said in a statement, referring to South Korea’s name for the body of water. The missiles
‘UNWAVERING FRIENDSHIP’: A representative of a Japanese group that co-organized a memorial, said he hopes Japanese never forget Taiwan’s kindness President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday marked the 15th anniversary of the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, urging continued cooperation between Taiwan and Japan on disaster prevention and humanitarian assistance. Lai wrote on social media that Taiwan and Japan have always helped each other in the aftermath of major disasters. The magnitude 9 earthquake struck northeastern Japan on March 11, 2011, triggering a massive tsunami that claimed more than 19,000 lives, according to data from Japanese authorities. Following the disaster, Taiwan donated more than US$240 million in aid, making it one of the largest contributors of financial assistance to Japan. In addition to cash donations and
RSS