The Chinese Communist Party has recently escalated its threats against Taiwan. Taiwan officials said on Wednesday (April 7) that they have found Chinese drones flying around the island in the airspace near Dongsha Island, and if they enter the airspace over the restricted waters, they will deal with them in accordance with the regulations and open fire if they should.
According to the Central News Agency, the Taiwan Coast Guard pointed out in a special project report submitted to the Legislative Yuan on Sunday that recent Chinese drones flying around the island in the airspace near Dongsha Island are not ruled out for reconnaissance; it is judged that the relevant Chinese military or paramilitary disturbance of Taiwan will be intensified with the deepening of Taiwan-US relations.
Li Zhongwei, the chairman of the Ocean Affairs Council, to which the Coast Guard belongs, was in the Legislative Yuan on Wednesday to prepare for a questioning. The members of the legislature are concerned about the Coast Guard’s precautions against Chinese drones and related countermeasures on Taiping Island and Dongsha Island.
Li said that the Chinese Communist Party has been using different means to test the gray areas. For Taiwan’s surrounding waters to grasp the situation, in addition to the Sea Patrol Agency’s existing detection capabilities, but also with other units horizontal contact, sharing information. In other words, whether it is an air target or a surface target, there are ways to master.
Li Zhongwei pointed out that although the air defense is the responsibility of the air defense authorities, but recently the Coast Guard has also been concerned about the Dongsha Island. No Chinese drones have been found on Taiping Island yet. On Dongsha Island, the Chinese drones have not yet entered the airspace above the restricted waters, but are only flying around the perimeter.
Li Zhongwei also said that if the Chinese drones enter the airspace above the restricted waters, “they will fire in accordance with the disposal regulations.”
The company’s main goal is to provide a solution to the problem. For example, Taiwan’s surrounding airspace is divided into surveillance zones, alert zones and destruction zones. If a communist plane is in the surveillance zone, it will be monitored with a scout to observe the communist plane’s actions; if it enters the alert zone, appropriate troops will be sent to monitor it; if it enters the destruction zone again, it will be handled according to the regulations.
Taiwan Foreign Minister Wu Chiu-sup said during a meeting with foreign media at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday (April 7, 2021), “We have the will to defend ourselves, there is no doubt about that. If there is a need to fight a war, we will fight a war. If there is a need to defend ourselves to the last day, we will defend ourselves to the last day.”
Wu said Taiwan will increase military spending and is determined to strengthen its military capabilities. He said, “It is our responsibility to defend Taiwan. We will do everything we can to improve our defense capabilities.”
In recent months, the Chinese Communist Party has been stepping up its military threat to Taiwan. The Free Times reported that on April 7 alone, Chinese Communist military aircraft disturbed Taiwan seven times. Notably, military buffs have also recorded that on the night of April 6, when a communist plane was dispatched from Taiwan, it said, “This is all Chinese airspace!”
On Tuesday (April 6), U.S. Defense Department spokesman John Kirby said the U.S. is monitoring Chinese (Communist Party of China) naval exercises near Taiwan and reiterated its continued arms sales to Taiwan, as the Liaoning fleet is currently conducting exercises in waters around Taiwan.
On April 7, the Taiwan Air Force (TAF) issued a news release on Chinese military aircraft. 15 Chinese military aircraft violated Taiwan’s southwest air defense identification zone (ADIZ), including two Air Marshal 500s, eight J-10s, four J-16s, and one transport-8 anti-submarine aircraft; the TAF dispatched air patrol forces to respond, broadcast repulsions, and anti-aircraft missile tracking and monitoring.
On April 5, 10 planes intruded into Taiwan’s southwestern air defense identification zone, including the Carrier-8, which also flew into Taiwan’s southeastern airspace; on March 26, the Chinese Communist Party sent 20 military planes to disturb Taiwan; on March 29, the Chinese Communist Party sent 10 military planes to disturb Taiwan.
According to the “Southwest Taiwan Airspace” fan page, the total number of days of entry into Taiwan airspace this month is 6, and the total number of broadcasted dispersions this month is 21. 81 days of entry into Taiwan airspace in 2021, and the total number of broadcasted dispersions is 231.
In addition to threatening Taiwan, the Chinese Communist Party has recently increased its provocations against the Philippines and Japan.
Bloomberg reported that experts believe these Chinese Communist Party actions increasingly look like a test to see if U.S. President Joe Biden will actually put them into action after promising to work with allies in the region to contain the Chinese Communist Party.
“It’s a test to see what the (Biden) administration is willing to do.” Carl Schuster, former director of operations for the U.S. Pacific Command’s Joint Intelligence Center, said in response to recent frequent provocative actions by the Chinese Communist Party, “How the U.S. responds will determine the next test (of the Chinese Communist Party). Right now, everything we do is more lip service than substance (of action).”
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