The Chinese military again invaded Taiwan’s air surveillance zone with more than 30 warplanes. China’s government has rejected criticism of its actions. The stakes continue to rise.
According to Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense, 37 military aircraft entered the southern part of Taiwan’s air surveillance zone in the past few hours. Among them were fighters and bombers, as well as transport and reconnaissance planes, according to information from Taipei. Some aircraft continued to fly towards the western Pacific for reconnaissance exercises. Monitor the situation and keep your own air defenses ready with ships, planes and missiles.
Taiwan’s air surveillance zone is not Taiwan’s airspace, but an area above an imaginary dividing line that lies halfway between China and Taiwan.
Constant pressure tactics
At a press conference at the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a reporter from the Portal news agency asked about the latest flights. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin dismissed the question, saying he did not understand it because the matter was not a foreign issue. The Taiwan issue is purely an internal matter.
The state and party leadership in Beijing consider Taiwan to be part of the People’s Republic and do not officially recognize the dividing line between the two areas. In fact, however, she largely respected that line for decades. In recent years, China’s military has repeatedly violated the fictitious border. In 2022 alone, bets doubled compared to the previous year.
According to experts, the growing deployments in Taiwan’s air surveillance zone are part of a larger “grey area” tactic by China to keep up the pressure on the island. At the same time, Beijing reacts sensitively to any diplomatic moves that make Taiwan appear as a sovereign state and to military exercises in the island area.
Japan reports spy ship
Further north, in the Pacific, the Chinese navy appears to have entered Japanese waters. The Japanese Defense Ministry protested, saying it was a Chinese Navy reconnaissance vessel. The territory of Japan will be fully protected, this also applies to water and air.