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China continues to breach Taiwan air defence zone

In response, Taiwan sent aircraft, issued radio warnings, and deployed air defence missiles systems to track the PLAAF….reports Asian Lite news

In yet another intrusion by Beijing amid escalating tensions in Taiwan Strait, a Chinese warplane entered Taiwan’s air defence identification zone (ADIZ), marking the second intrusion this month.

According to the Ministry of National Defence, a single People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) Shaanxi Y-8 anti-submarine warfare plane entered the southwest corner of Taiwan’s ADIZ, Taiwan News reported on Saturday.

In response, Taiwan sent aircraft, issued radio warnings, and deployed air defence missiles systems to track the PLAAF.

Beijing claims full sovereignty over Taiwan, a democracy of almost 24 million people located off the southeastern coast of mainland China, even though the two sides have been governed separately for more than seven decades.

2 PLA aircraft entered Taiwan’s southwest(Twitter)

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Chinese planes have been tracked in Taiwan’s identification zone so far this month on July 2 and July 3, with all instances involving slow-flying turboprops.

An ADIZ is an area that extends beyond a country’s air space where air traffic controllers ask incoming aircraft to identify themselves. Gray zone tactics are defined “as an effort or series of efforts beyond steady-state deterrence and assurance that attempts to achieve one’s security objectives without resort to direct and sizable use of force,” Taiwan News reported.

Citing the Ministry of National Defense data, it further reported that Chinese aircraft were tracked in Taiwan’s identification zone 10 times in June, 18 times in May, 22 times in April, 18 times in March, 17 times in February, and 27 times in January. Last year, they were observed 19 times in December, 22 times in November, and 22 times in October.

Taiwan has complained in recent months of repeated missions by China’s air force near the island, concentrated in the southwestern part of its air defence zone near the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Islands.

In the last more than one year, almost coinciding with the spread of the Covid-19 virus that originated in China, Beijing has been involved in numerous disputes with its neighbours. It has regularly carried out intimidating flights around Taiwan coupled with statements that it would seize Taiwan by force. Coast to coast, the distance across the Taiwan Strait is approximately 180 km between the two politically-divergent nations.

Among other hostilities that China carried out over the last one year include incursion into northern India in Ladakh, invading the South China Sea with maritime militia and even sending out its navy and air force close to Japanese territory. (ANI/IANS)

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US triples vaccine pledge to Taiwan

Earlier, the US committed 750,000 doses to the island but increased the number to 2.5 million after the Biden administration committed to sending more doses around the world, reports Asian Lite News

The Joe Biden administration has informed that an additional 2.5 million Moderna Covid-19 vaccine doses will reach Taiwan amid growing tensions between the island and China.

“Wheels up! Our donation of 2.5 million vaccine doses is on the way to Taiwan, whose health partnership with the US helped save lives here and around the world,” State Department spokesperson Ned Price tweeted.

“The State Department is proud to support President Joe Biden’s commitment to help the world defeat Covid-19,” he added.

Earlier, the US committed 750,000 doses to the island but increased the number after the Biden administration committed to sending more doses around the world.

The Hill reported that China has attempted to send Taiwan vaccine doses, but the island refused them, citing safety concerns, creating more tension in an already strained relationship.

China and Taiwan have clashed recently, with China claiming Taiwan is part of its territory. China has condemned any actions by the US it perceives as challenging that claim.

China recently sent dozens of warplanes into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone.

Beijing claims full sovereignty over Taiwan, a democracy of almost 24 million people located off the southeastern coast of mainland China, even though the two sides have been governed separately for more than seven decades.

Recently, the Group of Seven Seven leaders issued a joint statement, slamming China for a series of issues and underscored the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait — comments China condemned as “slander.”

Taiwan has complained in recent months of repeated missions by China’s air force near the island, concentrated in the southwestern part of its air defence zone near the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Islands.

‘Forces for good will prevail’

Taiwan reacted with an outpouring of thanks to the United States for shipping 2.5 million Covid-19 vaccine doses to the major semiconductor-producing island, more than doubling its arsenal as it deals with a rise in domestic infections.

Washington, competing with Beijing to deepen geopolitical clout through “vaccine diplomacy,” initially had promised to donate 750,000 doses but increased that number as President Joe Biden’s administration advances its pledge to send 80 million U.S.-made shots around the world.

“What a sight! What a gesture!” Taiwan Foreign Minister Joseph Wu tweeted in thanks late on Saturday, linking to pictures of the vaccines being loaded onto a China Airlines Boeing 777 freighter at Memphis airport.

“The Taiwan-U.S. relationship is rock solid, & we’ll keep cooperating closely in combating Covid-19. Forces for good will prevail!”

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen tweeted she was touched by the U.S. move.

“Thank you to the U.S. for this moving gesture of friendship. These vaccines will go a long way toward keeping Taiwan safe & healthy.”

The United States, like most countries, has no formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, but is its most important international backer, to China’s anger.

The 2.5 million Moderna Inc doses, due to arrive at Taiwan’s main international airport late Sunday afternoon, will more than double the number of vaccines that have already arrived on the island, including 1.24 million AstraZeneca Plc shots donated by Japan earlier this month.

China, which claims democratically governed Taiwan as an integral part of its territory, has offered Chinese-made vaccines, but the government in Taipei has repeatedly expressed concerns about their safety and efficacy.

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China fumes as Japanese PM calls Taiwan a country

PM Suga’s Taiwan reference came as Tokyo and Beijing have already been at odds over several issues, including a territorial dispute in the East China Sea and the crackdown on Hong Kong, reports Asian Lite News

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga referred to Taiwan as a country, drawing a sharp reaction from Beijing which regards the self-ruled island as its ‘inalienable part’.

In his first one-on-one parliamentary debate with opposition leaders Wednesday, Suga, naming Australia, New Zealand and Taiwan, said, “Such three countries have been imposing strong restrictions on privacy rights” to curb the novel coronavirus outbreak, Kyodo News reported.

Self-governed Taiwan is usually called a “region” in Japan.

Chinese President Xi Jinping

Beijing claims full sovereignty over Taiwan, a democracy of almost 24 million people located off the southeastern coast of mainland China, despite the fact that the two sides have been governed separately for more than seven decades.

Taipei, on the other hand, has countered the Chinese aggression by increasing strategic ties with democracies including the US, which has been repeatedly opposed by Beijing. China has threatened that “Taiwan’s independence” means war.

ALSO READ – China lodges protest after US senators visited Taiwan

Suga’s reference came as Tokyo and Beijing have already been at odds over several issues, including a territorial dispute in the East China Sea and the crackdown on Hong Kong.

“China expresses strong dissatisfaction with Japan’s erroneous remarks and has lodged a solemn protest against Japan,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told reporters in Beijing on Thursday.

Taiwan
2 PLA aircraft entered Taiwan’s southwest(Twitter)

“There is only one China in the world,” Wang said, urging Japan to become more cautious in words and deeds on Taiwan affairs and to avoid sending wrong signals to the island’s independence forces.

Suga’s government has been strengthening its commitment to democratic Taiwan. Recently, Japan donated over 1.2 million COVID-19 doses to Taiwan, as the island faces a spike in COVID-19 cases.

China has also lambasted Japan for donating vaccines, labelling such a move as a “political performance”.

At his summit in Washington in April, Suga with US President Joe Biden acknowledged “the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.” It marked the first time in 52 years that Japanese and U.S. leaders have mentioned Taiwan in a joint statement. (ANI)

ALSO READ – Chinese aggression intensifies in Taiwan air defence zone

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China lodges protest after US senators visited Taiwan

Chinese-Foreign-minister-Wang-Yi

Chinese foreign ministry said America should cease all forms of official contact with Taipei….reports Asian Lite News

China has lodged a diplomatic protest with the United States after three US senators paid a short visit to Taiwan, media reported.

Chinese foreign ministry said America should cease all forms of official contact with Taipei.

It lodged solemn representations with the United States over their visit, foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said.

The US has also announced a donation of 750,000 COVID-19 vaccines to Taiwan during a three-hour visit by a bipartisan group of US Senators to Taipei on Sunday.

This decision was part of Washington’s promise to donate at least 80 million doses by the end of this month to the world. Taiwan was chosen as one of the first to receive vaccines as it continues to battle a sudden surge in cases, NHK reported.

The three Senators arrived at Songshan Airport in Taipei on a US Air Force cargo plane. The short visit was part of a larger tour of the Indo-Pacific region.

“It was critical that Taiwan be included in the first group to receive vaccines because the United States recognizes Taiwan’s urgent need and values this partnership,” said Tammy Duckworth, a Democrat who serves on the Senate Committee on Armed Services.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said that the United States’ pledge to donate COVID-19 vaccines to Taiwan has sent a strong and clear message of its support for the country.

Earlier this week, the White House had said that of the first 25 million, 19 million will be distributed through the COVAX initiative.

As part of Washington’s vaccine outreach, 7 million doses will be given to Asia which includes the following countries and entities: India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Maldives, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, Laos, Papua New Guinea, Taiwan, and the Pacific Islands. (with inputs from ANI)

ALSO READ: Chinese aggression intensifies in Taiwan air defence zone

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Chinese aggression intensifies in Taiwan air defence zone

A single People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) Shaanxi Y-8 electronic warfare plane flew into the southwest corner of Taiwan’s ADIZ on Thursday morning…reports Asian Lite News

In yet another intrusion by Beijing amid escalating tensions in Taiwan Strait, a Chinese warplane entered Taiwan’s air defence identification zone (ADIZ).

A single People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) Shaanxi Y-8 electronic warfare plane flew into the southwest corner of Taiwan’s ADIZ on Thursday morning, according to the Taiwanese Ministry of National Defense (MND). It was the first intrusion of this month.

A total of 29 Chinese planes were tracked in the identification zone in May, including 25 slow-flying turboprops, two fighter bombers, and two fighter jets, Taiwan News reported.

Since mid-September of last year, Beijing has stepped up its gray-zone tactics by regularly sending planes into Taiwan’s ADIZ, with most instances occurring in the southwest corner of the zone and usually consisting of one to three slow-flying turboprop planes.

2 PLA aircraft entered Taiwan’s southwest(Twitter)

Over the past few months, Taiwan has reported incursion by Chinese warplanes into ADIZ almost daily.

Last month, Taiwanese premier Su Tseng-chang termed the incursion by Chinese warplanes into Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zone (ADZ) as “unnecessary” and “thoughtless”.

Beijing claims full sovereignty over Taiwan, a democracy of almost 24 million people located off the southeastern coast of mainland China, despite the fact that the two sides have been governed separately for more than seven decades.

Taipei, on the other hand, has countered the Chinese aggression by increasing strategic ties with democracies including the US, which has been repeatedly opposed by Beijing. China has threatened that “Taiwan’s independence” means war.

Tensions in the Taiwan Strait are escalating. This focus on the strait comes after China ramped up political pressure and military threats against Taiwan, with almost daily incursions into Taipei’s air defence identification zone.

The Taiwan Strait is a 180-kilometre-wide strait separating the island of Taiwan and continental Asia. It is one of the most heavily policed strips of water in the world, patrolled by both Chinese and Taiwanese navy and coastguard vessels.

The strait is in international waters, however, China claims Taiwan as its own territory and regards the US Navy’s presence in the area as a show of support for the island’s democratic government. (ANI)

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-Top News China USA

Leaked papers reveal plan to nuke China in 1958

Former military analyst Ellsberg posted online the classified portion of a top-secret document on the crisis that had been only partially declassified in 1975, reports Asian Lite News

US military planners pushed for nuclear strikes on mainland China in 1958 to protect Taiwan from an invasion by Communist forces, classified documents posted online by Daniel Ellsberg of “Pentagon Papers” fame show.

US planners also assumed that the Soviet Union would aid China and retaliate with nuclear weapons — a price they deemed worth paying to protect Taiwan, according to the document, first reported by the New York Times.

Former military analyst Ellsberg posted online the classified portion of a top-secret document on the crisis that had been only partially declassified in 1975.

Ellsberg, now 90, is famous for his 1971 leak to US media of a top-secret Pentagon study on the Vietnam war known as the Pentagon Papers.

Ellsberg told the Times that he copied the top-secret Taiwan crisis study in the early 1970s, and is releasing it as tensions mount between the United States and China over Taiwan.

Had an invasion taken place, General Nathan Twining, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the time, “made it clear that the United States would have used nuclear weapons against Chinese air bases to prevent a successful air interdiction campaign,” the document’s authors wrote.

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If this did not stop an invasion, then there was “no alternative but to conduct nuclear strikes deep into China as far north as Shanghai,” the document said, paraphrasing Twining.

In the event, US president Dwight D. Eisenhower decided to rely initially on conventional weapons.

The 1958 crisis ended when Communist forces halted artillery strikes on islands controlled by Taiwan, leaving the area under the control of Nationalist forces under Chiang Kai-shek.

China considers Taiwan to be a rebel province that will one day return to the mainland’s fold, by force if necessary.

Washington has recognized Beijing since 1979, but maintains relations with Taipei and is its most important military ally.

The United States also frequently conducts what it calls “freedom of navigation” operations in the flashpoint Taiwan Strait waterway.

President Joe Biden is expected to announce his strategy toward China soon, and calls are growing for him to make a clear public commitment to defend Taiwan militarily.

A US law requires Washington to help the island defend itself in the event of a conflict, but the United States has pursued a policy of “strategic ambiguity” for decades, refraining from clearly stating what circumstances would lead it to intervene militarily on Taiwan’s behalf.

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Asia News China

Taiwan to begin military measures against Chinese escalation

China-ship

Taiwan Defence Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng said that Beijing is carrying out electronic warfare and reconnaissance but Taiwan has countermeasures in place…reports Asian Lite News

As China escalates its gray zone tactics against Taiwan, Taipei has announced that it will dispatch military aircraft and ships to counter Chinese military activities near its borders.

Taiwan Defence Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng said that Beijing is carrying out electronic warfare and reconnaissance but Taiwan has countermeasures in place, Taiwan News reported.

He added the country’s contingency planning takes into consideration the effect on future surveillance and counter-reconnaissance missions, Liberty Times reported. The military is able to handle any threat that arises, Chiu stressed.

Since mid-September of last year, Beijing has stepped up its gray-zone tactics by regularly sending planes into Taiwan’s Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ), with most instances occurring in the southwest corner of the zone and usually consisting of one to three slow-flying turboprop planes.

Over the past few months, Taiwan has reported incursion by Chinese warplanes into ADIZ almost daily.

2 PLA aircraft entered Taiwan’s southwest(Twitter)
Also read:China continues incursions in Taiwan air zone

Meanwhile, China has said its military activities in the Taiwan Strait were targeted at “separatists” in Taiwan and “external forces”.

“[We] have made full preparation in addressing the separatist activities of Taiwan independence and the interference of external forces,” South China Morning Post quoted Chinese defence ministry spokesman Wu Qian, as saying.

Beijing claims full sovereignty over Taiwan, a democracy of almost 24 million people located off the southeastern coast of mainland China, despite the fact that the two sides have been governed separately for more than seven decades.

Taipei, on the other hand, has countered the Chinese aggression by increasing strategic ties with democracies including the US, which has been repeatedly opposed by Beijing. China has threatened that “Taiwan’s independence” means war.

China has recently has commissioned three warships, including a large amphibious assault ship, adding them to the fleet covering the South China Sea.

The Global Times newspaper, which is affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party, reported that the ships were the country’s first Type 075 amphibious assault ship, a large destroyer, and a nuclear-powered strategic ballistic missile submarine.

Countries like Japan and the US have spoken about the need for peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.

Early this month, in their first in-person meeting at the White House, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and US President Joe Biden said in their joint statement that they “underscore the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait” and “encourage the peaceful resolution of cross-strait issues. (ANI)

Also read:Beijing slams Australia over Taiwan remarks

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Asia News China

China continues incursions in Taiwan air zone

Local military aircraft tracker tracked the aircraft’s flight paths as well as radio broadcasts by the MND…reports Asian Lite News

Taiwanese military intercepted a Chinese spy plane apparently trying to test Taiwan’s radar capabilities by flying at an extremely low altitude of only 30 meters.

On Monday, Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense announced that a Y-8 electronic warfare plane (Y-8 EW) and a Y-8 tactical reconnaissance aircraft (Y-8 RECCE) intruded into Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ), Taiwan News reported.

According to the MND, it dispatched aircraft, issued radio warnings, and deployed air defence missile systems to monitor the activity.

2 PLA aircraft entered Taiwan’s southwest ADIZ(Twitter)

Local military aircraft tracker tracked the aircraft’s flight paths as well as radio broadcasts by the MND. It stated that Y-8 anti-submarine warfare (ASW) plane was detected that day as well.

The incident marks the lowest altitude incursion by a Chinese military plane in Taiwan’s ADIZ this year. It also was the lowest altitude that Taiwan’s military had directed a radio warning broadcast this year.

Also read:China’s Sichuan Airlines suspends cargo flights to India

Air defence identification zones are early warning systems that help countries detect incursions into their airspace.

Any aircraft entering such an area is supposed to report its route and purpose to the “host” nation, though the zones are classified as international airspace and pilots are not legally bound to make such a notification.

2 PLA aircraft entered Taiwan’s southwest ADIZ(Twitter)

Since mid-September of last year, Beijing has stepped up its gray-zone tactics by regularly sending planes into Taiwan’s ADIZ, with most instances occurring in the southwest corner of the zone and usually consisting of one to three slow-flying turboprop planes.

Over the past few months, Taiwan has reported incursion by Chinese warplanes into ADIZ almost daily.

Last month, Taiwanese premier Su Tseng-chang termed the incursion by Chinese warplanes into Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zone (ADZ) as “unnecessary” and “thoughtless”. Beijing claims full sovereignty over Taiwan, a democracy of almost 24 million people located off the southeastern coast of mainland China, despite the fact that the two sides have been governed separately for more than seven decades.

2 PLA aircraft entered Taiwan’s southwest ADIZ(Twitter)

Taipei, on the other hand, has countered the Chinese aggression by increasing strategic ties with democracies including the US, which has been repeatedly opposed by Beijing.

China has threatened that “Taiwan’s independence” means war.

Wu Qian, spokesperson of China’s Ministry of National Defence, on January 28 “warned” the people wanting “Taiwan independence” and had said “those who play with fire will set themselves on fire, and seeking ‘Taiwan independence’ means nothing but war”. (ANI)

Also read:China’s Sichuan Airlines suspends cargo flights to India