The Ministry of National Defense (MND) has denied that Chinese warplanes breached the airspace of the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島) in the disputed South China Sea.
The clarification was made late on Sunday after several media outlets reported an incursion into the territorial space of the Pratas Islands by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) on Saturday.
The reports cited information released by a privately run Facebook page that regularly records the PLA’s incursions into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ).
Photo provided by the Water Resources via CNA
According to an alleged transcript of a radio warning that the air force issued to the Chinese aircraft, an unnamed Taiwanese pilot told an unidentified PLA warplane: “You have entered our territorial airspace,” asking the aircraft to leave immediately.
The transcript was posted on a Facebook page titled “Taiwan’s Southwestern Airspace,” without an explanation of how the transcript was obtained.
It only said that the radio warning was issued when a number of PLA aircraft were spotted near the airspace of the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Islands.
However, the ministry dismissed the reports.
A chart of the flight routes released by the ministry showed that five PLA warplanes — three J-16 jets, one J-11 jet and one Y-8 tactical aircraft — flew into the ADIZ between Taiwan proper and the Pratas Islands on Saturday.
However, the chart showed that none of the Chinese aircraft intruded into the islands’ territorial airspace.
Without directly confirming or refuting the authenticity of the transcript on Facebook, the ministry said that “such a radio warning was issued as a ‘precautionary approach,’” without elaborating.
The ministry said that it has a “full grasp” on Chinese military maneuvers near waters and airspace surrounding Taiwan, and would take “appropriate responsive measures.”
ADIZs are areas declared by a country to allow it to identify, locate and control approaching foreign aircraft, but such zones are not considered territorial airspace.
A country’s territorial airspace extends 12 nautical miles (22km) from its coastline. Countries have the right to destroy a hostile aircraft that enters its territorial airspace without permission.
The Pratas Islands, which are almost 450km southwest of Kaohsiung, are one of two territories controlled by Taiwan in the South China Sea. The other is Itu Aba Island (Taiping Island, 太平島), which is about 1,500km southwest of Kaohsiung. Marine Corps-trained coast guard personnel are stationed on both territories.
However, the Ministry of National Defense last year said that it would temporarily post military personnel on the Pratas Islands in reaction to reports that the Chinese military was planning to conduct drills in the area.
The ministry did not elaborate on the number of troops it would deploy, their planned arrival date or how long they would stay.
Taiwan, Brunei, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam all claim part of the South China Sea as their territory.
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