The Chinese military has 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 increase.
According to the Taiwan Defense Ministry, 37 military aircraft have entered the southern part of Taiwan’s air surveillance zone in the past few hours. Among them were fighter planes and bombers, as well as transport and reconnaissance planes, according to the information from Taipei. Some aircraft continued to fly towards the western Pacific for reconnaissance exercises. Monitor the situation and keep your own anti-aircraft defenses ready with ships, planes and missiles.
Taiwan’s air surveillance zone is not the country’s airspace, but an area above an imaginary dividing line that runs midway between China and Taiwan.
Tactics of constant pressure
At a press conference at the Chinese Foreign Ministry, a reporter from the Reuters news agency asked about the latest flights. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin dismissed the question, saying he didn’t 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 regards Taiwan as part of the People’s Republic and does not officially recognize the dividing line between the two areas. De facto, however, she largely respected this line for decades. In recent years, China’s military has repeatedly violated the fictitious border. In 2022 alone, the bets doubled compared to the previous year.
According to experts, the increasing deployments in Taiwan’s air surveillance zone are part of a larger “grey area” tactic by China to keep 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 area of the island.
Japan reports spy ship
Further north in the Pacific, China’s navy appears to have entered Japanese waters. The Japanese Ministry of Defense protested, saying it was a Chinese Navy reconnaissance ship. Japan’s territory will be resolutely protected, this also applies to water and in the air.