The Taiwan Air Force (TAF) issued a news release on January 23, saying that one PLA transport 8 anti-submarine aircraft, eight Boom 6K and four J-16 warplanes entered Taiwan’s southwest air defense identification zone (ADIZ) on the same day, a record for this year. The Taiwan Air Force dispatched air patrol troops to respond, broadcast repulsions, and anti-aircraft missiles to track and monitor.
The Taiwan Air Force Command confirmed in a news release that “a total of 13 aircraft entered our southwest airspace again earlier on the 23rd; we responded by dispatching air patrol troops, broadcasting repulsions, and tracking and monitoring air defense missiles in accordance with standard procedures. This is also the 90th Time since the opening of the ‘Military Update’ section on the Ministry of Defense website on September 17 last year.” According to the Taiwanese military, the Boom-6K bomber and the J-16 fighter jet are the less frequented models since the opening of the special area on the official website of the Ministry of National Defense last September.
It is reported that since January 2, PLA military aircraft have entered the airspace for a total of 40 sorties on 19 days this month. The main types of aircraft are the transport-8 electronic reconnaissance aircraft, transport-8 anti-submarine aircraft, transport-8 jamming aircraft, Boom-6K bombers, J-16 fighters. Transport-9 communication countermeasures aircraft, air police-500 early warning aircraft. Among them, the transport-8 anti-submarine aircraft 10 sorties, transport-8 jamming aircraft 8 sorties, Boom-6K bombers 8 sorties, transport-8 electronic reconnaissance aircraft 7 sorties, J-16 fighters 4 sorties, transport-9 communication countermeasures aircraft 2 sorties, air police-500 early warning aircraft 1 sortie.
The Trump administration declassified details of the Indo-Pacific strategy it developed well in advance of the end of its term. The strategy commits to “develop and implement a defense strategy capable of, but not limited to, the following. (1) denying China sustained air and sea control within the ‘first island chain’ in the event of conflict; (2) defending the countries of the first island chain, including Taiwan; and (3) dominating all areas outside the first island chain.” With the Biden administration in power, Antony Blinken, his nominee for Secretary of State, also answered questions during a Senate certification hearing.
At the meeting, Blinken said it would be a “grave mistake” for China to use force against Taiwan. We have a long-term, bipartisan commitment to Taiwan and the Taiwan Relations Act,” he said. We need to make sure they have a way to stop aggression and protect themselves. I want to see Taiwan more involved in the world. It’s a model of democracy in many ways, with a strong economy and technology. And certainly, there’s a lot we can learn from the way they’ve handled the New Coronavirus.” He said the U.S. is committed to ensuring that Taiwan is capable of defending itself against the Chinese military threat. “The commitment to Taiwan is unwavering for us,” Blinken said.
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