China on Saturday and yesterday sent a record number of military aircraft into the nation’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ), in what analysts said was an attempt to flex its military might for US President Joe Biden.
Thirteen Chinese warplanes flew into Taiwan’s southwestern ADIZ on Saturday and 15 entered yesterday, the highest number observed in a single day this year, the Ministry of National Defense said.
On Saturday, eight Xian H-6K bombers, four Shenyang J-16 fighters and a Y-8 anti-submarine aircraft, entered the ADIZ, while yesterday there were two Y-8s, two Su-30s, four J-16s, six J-10 fighters and a Y-8 reconnaissance aircraft, the ministry said.
The intrusions mark the 19th and 20th days this month that China’s military has sent aircraft into the area, as Beijing continues to intensify its military pressure on Taiwan.
Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a senior analyst at the government-funded Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the incursion was designed to send a message to the new Biden administration, following his nomination of senior defense, foreign affairs and homeland security officials who have taken a tough stance toward Beijing.
China has continued to beef up its military intimidation toward Taiwan through military deployments since the second half of last year, Su said.
However, unlike last year’s efforts, which featured mostly slow-flying aircraft for defensive purposes, Saturday’s incursion involved a large number of bombers and fast-moving fighters, usually used for offensive purposes, Su said.
The deployment was meant to send a warning to Washington, as a US aircraft carrier group was reportedly operating near the Philippine Sea and the South China Sea, he added.
Su said he believes Beijing has made a strategic mistake, as the operation only proves the so-called “China threat theory” that sees China using its burgeoning power to destabilize regional security.
Another institute analyst, Shu Hsiao-huang (舒孝煌), said that China only sends large-scale air deployments to airspace near Taiwan on “special occasions.”
The incursion was Beijing showing its dissatisfaction toward the Biden administration’s decision to invite Representative to the US Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) to attend his inauguration on Wednesday last week, Shu said.
Although this is not the first time a Taiwanese representative to the US has attended a US presidential inauguration, previous attendees gained entry informally, through the courtesy of US legislators, sources familiar with the matter said.
Beijing’s move is aimed at testing the Biden administration’s Asia-Pacific strategy and to counter US military missions in the Bashi Channel between Taiwan and the Philippines, Shu said.
The inspection equipment and data transmission system for new robotic dogs that Taipei is planning to use for sidewalk patrols were developed by a Taiwanese company, the city’s New Construction Office said today, dismissing concerns that the China-made robots could pose a security risk. The city is bringing in smart robotic dogs to help with sidewalk inspections, Taipei Deputy Mayor Lee Ssu-chuan (李四川) said on Facebook. Equipped with a panoramic surveillance system, the robots would be able to automatically flag problems and easily navigate narrow sidewalks, making inspections faster and more accurate, Lee said. By collecting more accurate data, they would help Taipei
STATS: Taiwan’s average life expectancy of 80.77 years was lower than that of Japan, Singapore and South Korea, but higher than in China, Malaysia and Indonesia Taiwan’s average life expectancy last year increased to 80.77 years, but was still not back to its pre-COVID-19 pandemic peak of 81.32 years in 2020, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. The average life expectancy last year increased the 0.54 years from 2023, the ministry said in a statement. For men and women, the average life expectancy last year was 77.42 years and 84.30 years respectively, up 0.48 years and 0.56 years from the previous year. Taiwan’s average life expectancy peaked at 81.32 years in 2020, as the nation was relatively unaffected by the pandemic that year. The metric
TAKING STOCK: The USMC is rebuilding a once-abandoned airfield in Palau to support large-scale ground operations as China’s missile range grows, Naval News reported The US Marine Corps (USMC) is considering new sites for stockpiling equipment in the West Pacific to harden military supply chains and enhance mobility across the Indo-Pacific region, US-based Naval News reported on Saturday. The proposed sites in Palau — one of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies — and Australia would enable a “rapid standup of stored equipment within a year” of the program’s approval, the report said, citing documents published by the USMC last month. In Palau, the service is rebuilding a formerly abandoned World War II-era airfield and establishing ancillary structures to support large-scale ground operations “as China’s missile range and magazine
A 72-year-old man in Kaohsiung was sentenced to 40 days in jail after he was found having sex with a 67-year-old woman under a slide in a public park on Sunday afternoon. At 3pm on Sunday, a mother surnamed Liang (梁) was with her child at a neighborhood park when they found the man, surnamed Tsai (蔡), and woman, surnamed Huang (黃), underneath the slide. Liang took her child away from the scene, took photographs of the two and called the police, who arrived and arrested the couple. During questioning, Tsai told police that he had met Huang that day and offered to
RSS