TAIPEI - At least 71 Chinese air force aircraft including fighter jets and drones entered Taiwan’s air defence identification zone in the past 24 hours, the island’s government said on Monday, the largest reported incursion to date.
The incursion included 43 Chinese air force planes that crossed the Taiwan Strait’s median line, an unofficial buffer between the two sides that lies within the defence zone, Taiwan’s Defence Ministry said on Monday, as Beijing continues its military activities close to the Chinese-claimed island.
Taiwan’s official Central News Agency said it was the largest Chinese air force incursion to date, although there was no sense of alarm on the island, which has witnessed a steady increase in Chinese pressure in recent years.
China said it had conducted “strike drills” in the sea and airspace around Taiwan on Sunday in response to what it said was provocation from the democratically governed island and the United States. China regards Taiwan as a renegade province awaiting reunification with the mainland, by force if necessary.
A senior Taiwan official familiar with security planning in the region told Reuters that Taiwan assessed China had staged the military “provocation” to express anger at a new US defence authorisation law that boosts military assistance for Taiwan.
The person, who declined to be identified as the information was not made public, said that during the drills China’s air force dispatched warplanes from several locations across the country to carry out simulated attacks on Taiwanese and US warships.
Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, speaking at a military ceremony on Monday morning, reiterated the need for Taiwan to boost its defence capacity due to “the continuous expansion of authoritarianism”, although she made no mention of the latest military activity.
“The more preparations we make, the less likely there will be rash attempts of aggression. The more united we are, the stronger and safer Taiwan would become,” Ms Tsai told the assembled officers.
The presidential office said Ms Tsai will call a high-level national security meeting on Tuesday morning to discuss reinforcing the island’s civil defence system, followed by a press conference on new civil defence measures.
The defence ministry is considering extending compulsory military service beyond four months, as the war in Ukraine and rising tensions with Beijing renewed discussion about how to respond to Chinese military pressure.
Taiwan, which strongly rejects China’s sovereignty claims, said the drills show Beijing is destroying regional peace and trying to intimidate Taiwan’s people.
The jets involved in the latest incursion briefly crossed the median line of the sensitive Taiwan Strait, according to a map provided by Taiwan’s defence ministry. Seven Chinese navy ships were also detected near Taiwan, the ministry said.
China’s military also sent early warning, electronic-warfare and anti-submarine aircraft, as well as drones, into Taiwan’s southern air defence identification zone, or ADIZ, according to the report, which detailed Chinese activities near Taiwan over the 24 hours until 6am on Monday.
Taiwan sent unspecified combat aircraft to warn away the Chinese planes, while missile systems monitored their flight, the ministry said, using standard wording for its response.
Taiwan’s benchmark stock index brushed off the latest tensions, ending Monday up 0.1 per cent. However, China’s CSI Defence Index marked its best day in two months on Monday, rising 3.7 per cent.
China has stepped up pressure in recent years on Taiwan to accept Beijing’s rule. Taiwan’s government says it wants peace but will defend itself if attacked.
Taipei has complained of repeated missions by the China air force over the past two years, often in southern areas of its ADIZ. REUTERS
