The first-ever incursion of Chinese military helicopters into Taiwan’s southwestern air defense identification zone (ADIZ) this week suggests that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could be rotating through its arsenal of aircraft to probe the capabilities of the Taiwanese defense system and how it responds, experts said on Friday.
The Ministry of National Defense said that two Z-8 helicopters — the Chinese version of the French Aerospatiale SA 321 Super Frelon — and one Shaanxi Y-8 transport plane flew into the southwest ADIZ on Friday morning.
The ministry on Thursday said that a Harbin Z-9 “Haitun” helicopter and a Y-8 transport plane also flew into the ADIZ south of the Taiwan Strait, adding that it was the first recorded incident of Chinese helicopters since the ministry began reporting Chinese aerial incursions in September last year.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of National Defense
Lu Li-shih (呂禮詩), a former instructor at the China Naval Academy in Kaohsiung, said that the Z-8 and Z-9 helicopters vary in their features, but have similar their radar cross-sections.
These are the two main types of helicopters that Taiwan’s military would most likely come across, Lu said.
By deploying one of the helicopter versions and observing how Taiwan reacts, Beijing can gather intelligence on Taiwan’s response procedures and how well the military knows Chinese helicopter types, he said.
Institute for National Defense and Security Research analyst Shu Hsiao-huang (舒孝煌) said the Z-8 is one of the mid-sized to large helicopters fielded by the PLA and has anti-submarine, airborne early warning and troop transport capabilities.
Any form of surprise landing in Taiwan would likely employ a Z-8, Shu said, adding that these helicopters can take off from large ships or newly created airfields along China’s southeastern coast.
Lu said that China could deploy more helicopter types to test Taiwan’s responses and to fatigue military pilots, adding that Beijing could also begin sending drones.
The military should deliver a complete countermeasure against Chinese harassment, Lu said.
Costa Rica sent a group of intelligence officials to Taiwan for a short-term training program, the first time the Central American country has done so since the countries ended official diplomatic relations in 2007, a Costa Rican media outlet reported last week. Five officials from the Costa Rican Directorate of Intelligence and Security last month spent 23 days in Taipei undergoing a series of training sessions focused on national security, La Nacion reported on Friday, quoting unnamed sources. The Costa Rican government has not confirmed the report. The Chinese embassy in Costa Rica protested the news, saying in a statement issued the same
Taiwan’s Liu Ming-i, right, who also goes by the name Ray Liu, poses with a Chinese Taipei flag after winning the gold medal in the men’s physique 170cm competition at the International Fitness and Bodybuilding Federation Asian Championship in Ajman, United Arab Emirates, yesterday.
A year-long renovation of Taipei’s Bangka Park (艋舺公園) began yesterday, as city workers fenced off the site and cleared out belongings left by homeless residents who had been living there. Despite protests from displaced residents, a city official defended the government’s relocation efforts, saying transitional housing has been offered. The renovation of the park in Taipei’s Wanhua District (萬華), near Longshan Temple (龍山寺), began at 9am yesterday, as about 20 homeless people packed their belongings and left after being asked to move by city personnel. Among them was a 90-year-old woman surnamed Wang (王), who last week said that she had no plans
TO BE APPEALED: The environment ministry said coal reduction goals had to be reached within two months, which was against the principle of legitimate expectation The Taipei High Administrative Court on Thursday ruled in favor of the Taichung Environmental Protection Bureau in its administrative litigation against the Ministry of Environment for the rescission of a NT$18 million fine (US$609,570) imposed by the bureau on the Taichung Power Plant in 2019 for alleged excess coal power generation. The bureau in November 2019 revised what it said was a “slip of the pen” in the text of the operating permit granted to the plant — which is run by Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) — in October 2017. The permit originally read: “reduce coal use by 40 percent from Jan.
RSS