While a Chinese Communist Party military aircraft crosses the center line of the Taiwan Strait on Feb. 9, 2020, Taiwan’s National Army F-16s (left) take off in an emergency to monitor the accompanying flight. (Photo credit: Courtesy of Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense)
Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense (MND) released a message yesterday, Saturday, February 20, stating that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) had sent 11 military aircraft to participate in joint exercises organized by the CCP in the disputed South China Sea, and then flew into Taiwan’s southwest air defense identification zone (ADIZ); this was the third consecutive day of intrusive actions by CCP military aircraft this week, and the largest intrusion since February.
According to the information released by Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense last night, the communist forces sent two J-10s, two J-16s, four J-Bomber-7s, two Boom-6Ks, and one Carrier-8 anti-submarine aircraft to infiltrate Taiwan’s southwest air defense identification zone (ADIZ), and Taiwan routinely dispatched air patrol forces to drive them away, while broadcasting warnings and deploying anti-aircraft missiles to track and monitor the flight movements of all communist aircraft.
Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense pointed out that the communist army recently conducted military exercises in the north of Dongsha Island (also known as Platas Island), and in recent days, after entering Taiwan’s southwest air defense identification zone, the communist planes immediately turned around and returned on the same route.
The Dongsha Islands are one of the four major islands in the South China Sea, located in the northeast of the South China Sea and at an important transportation hub for international navigation. Only Dongsha Island is an “island” and has an airport, while the rest are atolls; due to the small size of Dongsha Island, only Taiwan Coast Guard personnel and researchers are usually stationed on the island, and no general residents live there.
The Dongsha Islands are one of the four major islands in the South China Sea. They are owned by Taiwan, but geographically they are only about 260 kilometers from Shantou, Guangdong Province, China, closer than the 410 kilometers from Taiwan’s main island. Taiwan has about 500 marines stationed on the Dongsha Islands. (Photo credit: Courtesy of the Taiwan Coast Guard)
The Dongsha Atoll was assigned to the jurisdiction of Huizhou, Guangdong Province during the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty, and was occupied by The Japanese during World War II and assigned to the New South Islands in Taiwan’s Gao Xiong State, and after the war, it was assigned to the Hainan Special Administrative Region of the Republic of China; in 1990, it was assigned to Kaohsiung City’s Qijin District as a substitute.
Although the Dongsha Islands are currently owned by Taiwan, they are geographically located only about 260 kilometers from Shantou, Guangdong Province, China, closer than the 410 kilometers from Taiwan’s main island. Taiwan has about 500 marines stationed on the Dongsha Islands.
Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense (MND) has issued a “Live Military Update” since Sept. 17 last year, disclosing information about Chinese military aircraft disturbing Taiwan. According to the information released by Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense, Chinese military aircraft have been disturbing Taiwan since February, and February 20 was the largest disturbance by Chinese military aircraft this month, second only to January’s record.
Beijing has not issued any statement on the two-day military aircraft encroachment around Taiwan on Feb. 19 and 20. However, the Chinese Communist Party has previously stated that such exercises are a response to the close cooperation between Taiwan and the United States, which is currently Taiwan’s main international supporter and supplier of arms sales sources.
Taiwan’s Tsai Ing-wen administration made a major move to reorganize its national security team on February 19, announcing a reshuffle of top security officials, including the appointment of National Security Director Chiu Kuo-ching, a former graduate of the U.S. Army War College, as defense minister in an attempt to strengthen Taiwan’s military modernization and intelligence efforts in response to growing Chinese Communist Party military provocations and threats.
And prior to that, on February 5, the USS McCain guided missile destroyer (DDG-56) entered the vicinity of the Xisha Islands to execute a freedom of movement voyage, the first related action by the U.S. military since the Biden administration took office.
On February 17, the USS Russell (DDG-59), a Burke-class destroyer, also conducted a freedom-of-movement cruise in the Spratly Islands. China, Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia, Brunei and the Philippines are all countries that have declared sovereignty over all or part of the Spratly Islands.
In a video address to the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations on the 2nd of this month, Yang Jiechi, a member of the Chinese Communist Party’s Politburo in charge of foreign affairs, said he wanted to push the U.S.-China bilateral relationship back to a predictable and constructive development track, but at the same Time he warned the U.S. that sovereignty in the South China Sea and the Taiwan issue are untouchable issues.
Some U.S. scholars believe that these arguments are not new and can hardly have a substantial effect on improving U.S.-China bilateral relations or restarting dialogue.
Professor Kinko Ogasawara of Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, who is familiar with Taiwan politics, recently wrote an article in Newsweek, saying that the possibility of Beijing’s violating Taiwan by force is very low at this stage, mainly because of the complicated situation of the inevitable counterattack by Taiwan’s military, the intervention of the U.S. fleet, and the high anti-China sentiment in the international community.
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