Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) yesterday urged China to exercise restraint, as Beijing is expected to conduct military drills in the coming days and prepares to launch a satellite tomorrow in which the launch vehicle would pass through airspace near Taiwan.
The Ministry of National Defense in a statement said that China is scheduled to launch a satellite launch vehicle from its Xichang Satellite Launch Center tomorrow, when Taiwan is to celebrate Double Ten National Day.
The satellite, which would be headed toward the West Pacific, would pass through Taiwan’s air defense identification zone, the ministry said.
Photo: Tien Yu-hua, Taipei Times
At a legislative hearing yesterday, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Yeh Yuan-chih (葉元之) asked Cho whether the scheduled satellite launch could be part of a reported “Joint Sword 2024B” military exercise.
Reuters on Monday reported that China is likely to launch a military exercise near Taiwan after Double Ten National Day.
China could call it “Joint Sword 2024B,” following the “Joint Sword 2024A” drills around Taiwan just days after President William Lai’s (賴清德) inauguration speech on May 20, it reported, quoting an unnamed senior Taiwan security official.
In response, Cho said he hoped China would conduct its military drills in its own jurisdiction, exercise restraint and avoid actions “that disrupt regional security and security in the Indo-Pacific region.”
“Taiwan will be prepared,” Cho said, adding that he would ask the military to gather information on the launch and monitor the process so that it would not pose any threats to the public.
He also pledged that the nation would strengthen its defenses in the lead-up to the Double Ten National Day, and said people can rest assured about national security.
Asked by Yeh if the government had kept abreast of the latest information on possible Chinese military exercises around Taiwan, Cho said it had, citing the ministry’s news release about the upcoming satellite launch.
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