Taiwan Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng has warned the island to be on alert this year for a possible “sudden entry” by the Chinese military into areas near its territory amid increasing military tensions across the Taiwan Strait.
China has escalated its military activities around Taiwan, including daily incursions into the island’s air defense identification zone. However, Taiwan has not reported any incident of Chinese forces entering its contiguous zone, which is 24 nautical miles from its coast, but it did shoot down a civilian drone that entered its airspace last year.
Answering questions from lawmakers in parliament, Chiu said that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) might find excuses to enter areas close to Taiwan’s territorial air and sea space as the island increases its military exchanges with the United States, which Beijing sees as a provocation. Chiu warned that the PLA might make a “sudden entry” into Taiwan’s contiguous zone and get close to its territorial space, which the island defines as 12 nautical miles from its coast.
Chiu further explained that China was looking to “make trouble under a certain pretext,” adding that it might include visits to the island made by senior foreign government officials or Taiwan’s frequent military contacts with other countries. He stated that since China has abandoned a tacit agreement on military movements in the Strait, Taiwan has made preparations to “fire the first shot” if Chinese entities, including drones or balloons, enter its territorial space.
China claims self-governed Taiwan as its own and has not renounced the use of force to bring it under Chinese control, if needed. Taiwan, on the other hand, strongly rejects China’s sovereignty claims and says only its people can decide their future. In response to Chiu’s comments, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Beijing “will take firm measures to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
The United States, Taiwan’s most important international arms supplier, has increased its support for the democratic island, adding to the tension in already strained US-Sino relations. Chiu said that discussions on the United States storing some of its military equipment in Taiwan were ongoing, but he declined to elaborate.
He also revealed that the PLA sends about 10 planes or ships to areas near Taiwan every day, with some crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait, which has traditionally served as an unofficial buffer, almost daily.
»Chiu Kuo-cheng warns the island to be on alert this year«
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