Taiwan reports increased Chinese military activity in its territory

Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense (MND) tracked 13 Chinese military aircraft, eight naval ships and two official vessels around Taiwan from 6 am Tuesday (local time) to 6 am Wednesday (local time).

According to Taiwan’s MND, seven People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft crossed the midline of the Taiwan Strait and entered Taiwan’s southwestern and eastern air defense identification zones (ADIZ).

In response to the Chinese incursion, Taiwan sent aircraft and naval ships and deployed coastal-based missile systems to monitor PLA activity.

Taiwan’s MND told X, “As of 6 a.m. today (UTC+8), 13 PLA aircraft, 8 PLAN ships, and 2 official ships were detected around Taiwan. 7 of these aircraft crossed the median line and entered Taiwan’s southwestern and eastern ADIZ. We have monitored the situation and taken action accordingly.”

This is the latest incident in a string of similar provocative moves by China in recent months. China has increased its military activities around Taiwan, including regular air and naval incursions into Taiwan’s ADIZ and military exercises near the island.

According to a Taiwan News report, since September 2020, China has intensified its use of grey zone tactics by increasing the number of military aircraft and naval ships operating near Taiwan.

The report states that grey zone strategies are considered “an effort, or series of efforts, beyond static deterrence and reassurance, that attempts to achieve its security objectives without the use of direct and large-scale force.”

Taiwan has been governed independently since 1949. However, China considers Taiwan part of its territory and insists on reunification, by force if necessary.

On September 1, Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te said that China’s goal is not to annex Taiwan out of concern for “territorial integrity” but to “change the rules-based global order” and “achieve hegemony,” the Central News Agency (CNA) reported.

In an interview on a local TV network, Lai stressed that China’s goal of annexing Taiwan is not motivated by the issue of territorial integrity.

Supporting his/her statement, he/she questioned, “If the issue is really about maintaining territorial integrity, why don’t they take back the land ceded to Russia under the Treaty of Aigun?”, referring to the 1858 agreement between the Qing dynasty and the Russian Empire under which about 600,000 square kilometers of land in Manchuria was ceded to Russia, as reported by the Central News Agency (CNA).

Lai Ching-te reiterated that Taiwan “can never agree to the ‘one China’ principle of the 1992 consensus” because doing so would mean “effectively ceding Taiwan’s sovereignty to China”.

In addition, he/she also reaffirmed his/her commitment to continuing the policies of his/her predecessor Tsai Ing-wen. This includes modernizing military training to make the armed forces “more self-confident” and advancing Taiwan’s submarine building program.