The Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) on Saturday launched joint air and sea patrols and military exercises of the navy and air force around Taiwan.
The patrols and exercises are meant to train the coordination of military vessels and airplanes and their ability to seize control of air and sea spaces, Shi Yi, a spokesperson for the command, was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency.
The armed forces’ ability to fight in real combat conditions will be tested, Shi said, adding that the patrols and exercises serve as a “stern warning to the collusion of Taiwan independence separatists with foreign elements and their provocations”.
Why has China decided to extend its military exercises around Taiwan?.(photo:IN)
Since September 2020, Beijing has increasingly employed the use of “grey zone tactics” in the form of deployments of military aircraft and naval vessels over the median line and inside Taiwan’s ADIZ.
37 Chinese military aircraft and seven naval vessels were tracked by Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defence (MND) between Friday and Saturday, according to Taiwan News.
The Chinese military aircraft and naval vessels were tracked from 6 am on Friday, July 21 to 6 a.m. on Saturday, July 22. “37 People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) military aircraft and seven People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) vessels had been tracked around Taiwan,” the MND said on Saturday.
Of the detected aircraft, 22 crossed the median line or entered the southwest, south, southeast, and east sections of Taiwan’s air defence identification zone (ADIZ), Taiwan News reported.
The aircraft tracked in the ADIZ included eight Chengdu J-10 fighter jets, six Shenyang J-16 fighters, two Xian H-6 bombers, one Shaanxi Y-8 anti-submarine warfare aircraft (Y-8 ASW), one Shaanxi Y-9 electronic warfare plane (Y-9 EW), one Guizhou WZ-7 Soaring Dragon reconnaissance unmanned aerial vehicle (WZ-7 UAV RECCE), one TB-001 reconnaissance and strike unmanned combat aerial vehicle (TB-001 UCAV RECCE), one Shaanxi KJ-500 early warning and control aircraft (KJ-500 AEW&C), and one Harbin Z-9 (Z-9 ASW) anti-submarine warfare helicopter.
The J-10 combat jets crossed the median line’s northern, central, and southern sections. The TB-001 UCAV and the Y-8 ASW crossed over the southern area of the median line and entered the southwest sector of the ADIZ, while the Z-9 ASW was also detected in the southwest ADIZ briefly taking a parallel path with the Y-8 ASW, Taiwan News reported.
A Chinese warplane conducting operations during exercises and training around the Taiwan Island. (Xinhua IANS)
The Y-9 ASW, H-6 bombers, and J-16s flew in parallel tracks in the southwest, south, and southeast sectors of the ADIZ and back. The KJ-500 AEW&C flew in the southwest corner of the ADIZ to the northeast of the Dongsha Islands, while the WZ-7 UAV RECCE covered the longest flight path which spanned from the southwest corner of the ADIZ to the eastern sector and back.
Seven navy ships were also reportedly sent out to conduct combined combat readiness patrols with Chinese military aircraft, according to the MND. The MND said that it is closely monitoring the situation with its intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) system and that it has despatched naval vessels, combat patrol aircraft, and land-based air defence missile systems in response, Taiwan News reported.
Since September 2020, Beijing has increasingly employed the use of “grey zone tactics” in the form of deployments of military aircraft and naval vessels over the median line and inside Taiwan’s ADIZ. According to CSIS, grey zone tactics are “an effort or series of efforts beyond steady-state deterrence and assurance that attempts to achieve one’s security objectives without resorting to direct and sizable use of force.” (ANI)
Secretary of State Antony Blinken met his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi
Over an hour-long meeting, Blinken emphasized that the United States is committed to maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, consistent with its longstanding one-China policy, reports Asian Lite News
Amid the tension between US and China, Secretary of State Antony Blinken met his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on Friday and stressed for preserving peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.
Blinken, who is in New York to attend the 77th sessions of UNGA, “stressed that preserving peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is critical to regional and global security and prosperity,” State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement.
Over an hour-long meeting, Blinken emphasized that the United States is committed to maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, consistent with its longstanding one-China policy.
Both leaders discussed the need to maintain open lines of communication and responsibly manage the US-PRC relationship.
“He also reiterated the United States’ condemnation of Russia’s war against Ukraine and highlighted the implications if the PRC were to provide support to Moscow’s invasion of a sovereign state. He underscored that the United States remains open to cooperating with the PRC where our interests intersect,” Ned Price said as quoted by the statement.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and a US delegation meets with a delegation lef by his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi.
Earlier also, the US had repeatedly raised their voice on China-Taiwan relations. On September 19, CBS released their interview with US President from its “60 minutes programme”, where Joe Biden said that American forces would defend Taiwan from a Chinese invasion.
Responding to a query over defending Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion, Biden said the US would defend Taiwan “if in fact there was an unprecedented attack,” according to The Washington Post.
Scott Pelley, the interviewer in the 60-minute programme pressed Biden on whether the situation would be different in the event of an attack on Taiwan.
“So unlike Ukraine, to be clear, sir, U.S. forces — U.S. men and women — would defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion?” Pelley asked.
“Yes,” Biden replied.
The relations between China and US deteriorated after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan. That trip angered China’s ruling Communist Party — which views Taiwan as part of its territory, despite never having governed it — and it responded by launching unprecedented military drills around the island, sending warplanes across the Taiwan Strait and firing missiles over the main island. (ANI)
A video screenshot shows a warplane conducting operations during exercises and training of the air force corps of the Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) around the Taiwan Island, Aug. 5, 2022. The Eastern Theater Command on Friday continued joint combat exercises and training in the waters and airspace around the Taiwan Island. (Xinhua/IANS)
Multiple Chinese aircraft and vessels crossed the unofficial, but so far mostly respected, centre line in the 130-km-wide Taiwan Strait separating the island from the mainland
China continued its large-scale military exercises around Taiwan on Saturday, a day after the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) sent a “record number” of military aircraft and naval vessels into areas around the island, the Foreign Ministry in Taipei said.
Multiple Chinese aircraft and vessels crossed the unofficial, but so far mostly respected, centre line in the 130-km-wide Taiwan Strait separating the island from the mainland, reports dpa news agency.
Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Jason Wu tweeted his condemnation of what he termed a “dangerous escalation of the military threat” that was “wrecking peace & stability in the region & must be condemned”.
As part of its military exercises, the PLA also launched 11 ballistic missiles in Taiwan’s direction, one of which flew directly over the island and passed close to the capital Taipei for the first time, according to reports.
Five other missiles landed east of Taiwan in Japan’s exclusive economic zone, in a gesture that was widely seen as a warning to Tokyo to stay out of the conflict.
China launched the exercises, which are due to continue until Sunday, in response to US Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan earlier in the week.
Photo taken on Aug. 5, 2022 shows a Taiwan military vessel as seen from a warship of the navy of the Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) during the navy’s combat exercises and training in the waters around the Taiwan Island. The Eastern Theater Command on Friday continued joint combat exercises and training in the waters and airspace around the Taiwan Island. (Photo by Lin Jian/Xinhua/IANS)
The visit of the highest-ranking US politician to Taiwan in 25 years provoked outrage in Beijing, which claims Taiwan as part of its sovereign territory, despite the island being self-governing since 1949.
China subsequently suspended dialogue with the US on climate protection and on certain military matters, while it ceased cooperation on issues such as the fight against organised crime, drugs and the repatriation of illegal immigrants altogether.
In addition, Beijing imposed unspecified sanctions on Pelosi and her immediate family members, accusing her of “seriously interfering in internal affairs”.
