Taiwan says China bolstering air power along coastline facing island
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China has ramped up its military activities near Taiwan in recent years.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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TAIPEI – China is bolstering its air power along the coast facing Taiwan with a permanent deployment of new fighters and drones at expanded air bases, Taiwan’s Defence Ministry said on Tuesday in its annual report.
China, which regards Taiwan as a renegade province to be reunified with it, by force if necessary, has ramped up its military activities near the island in recent years.
It was in response to what Beijing calls “collusion” between Taiwan and the United States and to prevent Taiwan independence.
China staged war games around Taiwan in August 2022
Taiwan’s National Defence Report said China uses “realistic combat training and exercises to strengthen its preparedness against Taiwan”.
“The Chinese communists have been completing the expansion of airfields along the coastline of (China’s) eastern and southern theatre commands, realigning new fighters and drones to be permanently stationed there,” it said.
China’s frequent drills to Taiwan’s north and south and into the Pacific show its efforts to intimidate Taiwan from both its east and west, the ministry added.
China’s Defence Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Taiwan, whose forces are dwarfed by those of China, has been pursuing a strategy of asymmetric defence by improving its long-range, precision, unmanned, manoeuvrable and artificial intelligence capabilities.
The ministry said that in the event of clear signs of a Chinese invasion, it could “pre-emptively strike (the) mobilising invasion forces” with precision weapons.
The report outlined China’s “grey zone” tactics, ostensibly non-military methods used against Taiwan. The ministry said these included weather balloons around the Taiwan Strait that are actually for spying purposes, and civilian aircraft used for surveillance.
China’s sabre-rattling around Taiwan has sparked concern regionally and in Western capitals about a possible conflict.
The economic slowdown in China could increase the risk of Beijing taking military action against Taiwan, the Republican chair of a US congressional committee on China said on Monday, drawing a contrast with Democratic President Joe Biden, who said it made it less likely.
Asked about Mr Biden’s comments, Mr Huang Wen-chi, assistant deputy chief for Taiwan’s General Staff For Intelligence, said China’s defence spending continued to increase and Taiwan could not let down its guard.
“We so far can’t see any friendliness from the Chinese communist authorities towards us,” he added. REUTERS
