Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) JH-7 and J-10 aircraft recently approached an Apex Aviation medical evacuation flight near Kinmen County without warning, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday.
Media earlier reported that the PLA aircraft approached within visual range of the medical evacuation flight.
The incident, which occurred several months ago, showed not only “a disregard for human life,” but was an open challenge to universal values, the council said in a statement.
Photo: Taipei Times
The deployment of PLA warplanes west of the Taiwan Strait median line is a clear attempt to exercise jurisdiction over the airspace, test the responses of Taiwan’s air force and provoke national security units, a retired military pilot said.
The council demanded that Beijing stop irrational “gray zone” tactics that undermine humanitarian relief efforts and endanger aviation safety.
Due to limited medical resources on Taiwan’s outlying islands, the central and local governments collaborate to provide air evacuation services, the council said.
In Kinmen alone, a total of 594 medical evacuations were carried out between 2018 and last year for an average of 85 per year or 7.1 per month, it said.
This has shortened medical transfer time from 3.5 to 1.4 hours, greatly improving the health outlook of Kinmen residents, it added.
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