Minister of National Defense of the Republic of China Qiu Guozheng.
The Chinese Navy frigate “Binzhou” entered the western Pacific Ocean through the Miyako Strait on April 30, when a Taiwanese warship and a Japanese warship sailed alongside each other to monitor the Binzhou. Some media said that this is the first “joint surveillance operation” between the Taiwanese and Japanese fleets. Taiwan responded by saying that the ROC military is perfecting its self-defense surveillance mission and dispatching aircraft and ships to respond within the surveillance area, but not deliberately cooperating with any country.
According to Taiwan News, Minister of National Defense Qiu Guozheng responded to the media on Monday (May 3) regarding the claim that Japanese and Taiwanese warships were “jointly monitoring” the communist frigate Binzhou, saying: “The recent enemy situation is serious, and the national army will improve the monitoring task in self-defense, and Taiwan will The Chinese government will send ships and aircraft to monitor any Chinese military aircraft and ships operating in the designated area, but there is no deliberate intention to cooperate with any country.
On May 1, Japan’s Defense Ministry released information that the Chinese Communist Navy’s 054A missile frigate Binzhou entered the western Pacific Ocean through the Miyako Strait from April 30 to May 1. The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force deployed an Abukuma-class destroyer escort and two maritime patrol aircraft in the relevant waters.
On the same day, the military Facebook fan page “New‧Elderly Seventh Army Military Miscellany” published instant satellite photos of the Chinese Navy’s 054A frigate Binzhou in the East China Sea, about 125 kilometers from the city of Keelung, Taiwan, and about 132 kilometers north of the Japanese island of Yonaguni, with Taiwanese and Japanese warships jointly monitoring the area.
On May 2, the Chinese navy confirmed to the public that the carrier formation of the Shandong ship was conducting drills in the South China Sea, and said it would conduct regular drills in the future as planned.
Newsweek reported on May 4 that satellite imagery from May 1 showed a detail that a Taiwanese warship appeared to be in the vicinity and appeared to be monitoring the Binzhou’s return to the East China Sea, a situation not mentioned in the Japanese Defense Ministry’s statement.
The report also highlighted that a Taiwan Navy Keelung-class destroyer could be seen sailing about six miles west of the Chinese Communist frigate and the Japanese warship in the same photo. According to Taiwan’s Apple Daily, this is the “first joint surveillance operation” between Taiwan and Japan.
In response to the situation that the communist Binzhou ship is being monitored by both Japanese and Taiwanese warships, Lin Yingyou, an assistant professor at the Institute of Strategic and International Affairs at Taiwan’s National Chung Cheng University, told Radio Free Asia on March 3 that this shows that Taiwan and the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force have a certain degree of cooperative tacit understanding, and whether this has the means to expand into a norm or tacit understanding between them is what the outside world should observe.
Lin Yingyou pointed out that the Chinese Communist Party’s warships not only threaten Taiwan, but also the United States and Japan. He said, “Today the Republic of China has the opportunity to interact with other countries, whether it will be integrated into the overall Indo-Pacific strategy of the United States and have a deeper relationship with neighboring countries, I think this is actually what is worth observing in this matter today.”
Lin Yingyou also said that it would be difficult for Taiwan to participate in the U.S.-Japan-India-Australia joint military exercises, but perhaps there is an opportunity to participate in joint military chess exercises.
In addition, Radio Free Asia also reported on April 3 that Taiwan’s National Army Air Force Command confirmed that on April 30, a Chinese Communist military transport-8 anti-submarine aircraft, a transport-8 long-range electronic jammer, an air police-500 early warning aircraft, and two J-16 fighters appeared in Taiwan’s southwest airspace.
In this regard, Lin Yingyou analyzed that this is a part of the overall joint military exercise of the Chinese Communist Party military. The presence of the Binzhou in the northeast of Taiwan and the continued flight of military aircraft in the southwestern airspace of Taiwan could be a simulated exercise by the Communist forces to implement a blockade of sea lanes.
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