A chartered aircraft of the Taiwan military flew smoothly on Monday (October 26, 2020) to deliver supplies to Dongsha Island in the South China Sea, then returned to the home island of Taiwan. On the 15th of this month, the same chartered aircraft had to turn back after being denied permission by Hong Kong aviation authorities to cross the flight jurisdiction while carrying out a routine supply run.
Taiwan’s Central News Agency quoted Coast Guard officials as saying that the chartered aircraft provided by UNI Airways for the military took off from Kaohsiung International Airport at 8:00 a.m. on Monday morning, carrying Coast Guard troops, Marine National Park staff and supplies to the Plattas Islands, the Dongsha Island that both China and Taiwan claim as sovereign. The plane arrived at its destination an hour later and was back in Kaohsiung by noon. Officials with the Coast Guard declined to say whether they had communicated with Hong Kong during the flight, the report said.
On October 15, the same chartered aircraft was denied access to Hong Kong’s AIS airspace by the Hong Kong government before it entered the airspace on a routine weekly supply flight, citing dangerous operations in that airspace. However, Hong Kong’s failure to notify Taiwan’s air traffic control authorities in advance raised suspicions. Subsequently, Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense stated that there were no military exercises in that airspace at that time.
Dongsha Island is located approximately 310 kilometers southeast of Hong Kong and is within Hong Kong’s flight information region.
About 250 Taiwan Coast Guard personnel are currently stationed on Dongsha Island. Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense indicated earlier this year that it had strengthened its maritime patrol forces and defensive operational readiness on Dongsha Island.
Chinese authorities are believed to have planned for the establishment of a South China Sea Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) covering the Spratly Islands, which is still awaiting an appropriate time to be announced. China’s unilateral declaration of an Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) in the East China Sea in 2013 has been criticized by the international community.
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