Chinese military planes and ships surrounded Taiwan on Wednesday during a drill, with some of the aircraft crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday.
In total, 35 Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft and six warships were detected around the nation during China’s “joint combat readiness patrols,” the ministry said.
A flight map released by the ministry showed that 12 of the aircraft crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait, while 15 entered the northern, southwestern and eastern parts of Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ).
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of National Defense
The 12 aircraft that crossed the median line included two drones, which flew along Taiwan’s east coast before circling back, and one “support aircraft” that was flying off the main island’s southeastern shoreline.
Meanwhile, six PLA vessels were detected in waters near Taiwan in the 24-hour period starting at 6am on Wednesday, the ministry said.
The incursions took place between 12:03pm and 9:57pm, information released by the ministry showed.
On the question of what may have prompted the incursions, Association of Strategic Foresight research fellow Chieh Chung (揭仲) said he did not think it resulted from the presence of the Taiwan delegation on the sidelines of US President Donald Trump’s inauguration on Monday.
The Taiwanese delegation received the same level of hospitality as during the inauguration of previous US presidents, Chieh said.
Chieh was referring to the seating arranged for Taiwan’s delegation members, which were at nearby locations rather than the Capitol Rotunda where the ceremony was held and where seats were reserved for US big tech and business moguls, senior US politicians and other world leaders.
Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) — who led the delegation — said he and Representative to the US Alexander Yui (俞大?) joined other guests at the Capitol Visitor Center, called Emancipation Hall, to watch the swearing-in on a large screen.
Other members — seven cross-party lawmakers — watched a livestream in a VIP area of the Capital One Arena, just over a mile from the Capitol Building, Han said.
Furthermore, whenever China is aiming to send a political message by means of military activity, its actions usually include some form of propaganda, Chieh said, adding that there was none of that on Wednesday.
For example, the two “Joint Sword” exercises the PLA staged around Taiwan last year were accompanied by online videos of Chinese fighter jets and warships, as well as statements by Chinese officials released through Chinese state-controlled media shortly after the drills began, he said.
The lack of such propaganda on Wednesday suggests that the drill was routine, Chieh said.
The PLA has routinely staged three to five “Joint Combat Readiness Patrols” per month since February last year, he added.
Lin Ying-yu (林穎佑), an assistant professor at Tamkang University’s Graduate Institute of International Affairs and Strategic Studies, agreed that Wednesday’s drill was routine and not linked to the Taiwan delegation’s visit to the US.
There were no surprises during the Taiwan delegation’s visit to Washington for Trump’s inauguration, Lin said.
The PLA last staged an exercise on a similar scale on Jan. 14, when 14 of the 24 PLA aircraft detected in Taiwan’s ADIZ crossed the median line of the Strait during a joint combat readiness patrol.
During another drill a week earlier, 14 of the 25 PLA planes detected in the same area crossed the median line.
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was sentenced to six months in prison, commutable to a fine, by the New Taipei District Court today for contravening the Personal Data Protection Act (個人資料保護法) in a case linked to an alleged draft-dodging scheme. Wang allegedly paid NT$3.6 million (US$114,380) to an illegal group to help him evade mandatory military service through falsified medical documents, prosecutors said. He transferred the funds to Chen Chih-ming (陳志明), the alleged mastermind of a draft-evasion ring, although he lost contact with him as he was already in detention on fraud charges, they said. Chen is accused of helping a
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
SECURITY: Starlink owner Elon Musk has taken pro-Beijing positions, and allowing pro-China companies to control Taiwan’s critical infrastructure is risky, a legislator said Starlink was reluctant to offer services in Taiwan because of the nation’s extremely high penetration rates in 4G and 5G services, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said yesterday. The ministry made the comments at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, which reviewed amendments to Article 36 of the Telecommunications Management Act (電信管理法). Article 36 bans foreigners from holding more than 49 percent of shares in public telecommunications networks, while shares foreigners directly and indirectly hold are also capped at 60 percent of the total, unless specified otherwise by law. The amendments, sponsored by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ko
A Japan Self-Defense Forces vessel entered the Taiwan Strait yesterday, Japanese media reported. After passing through the Taiwan Strait, the Ikazuchi was to proceed to the South China Sea to take part in a joint military exercise with the US and the Philippines, the reports said. Japan Self-Defense Force vessels were first reported to have passed through the strait in September, 2024, with two further transits taking place in February and June last year, the Asahi Shimbun reported. Yesterday’s transit also marked the first time since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office that a Japanese warship has been sent through the Taiwan
RSS