Tensions between China and Taiwan have escalated as China on Saturday, April 8, started its military drills around Taiwan. China called it a ‘stern warning’ to the Taiwanese government after Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen returned from a trip to the United States.
Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen met US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy during her visit to the USA. On Sunday, April 9, Taiwan’s Defence Ministry reiterated that it will “fight to defend and protect the home together”. This response comes after multiple Chinese aircraft were detected encircling Taiwan.
On Sunday, during the second day of the military drill, the Chinese army simulated precision strikes against Taiwan. Amidst China’s military drill, the Taiwanese Defence Ministry stated on Twitter, “#Taiwan is our homeland, and no matter where we go or what we encounter, she is always charming and beautiful. Every story on this land is etched in our memories. We, the #ROCArmedForces, are fighting with all our heart to defend our homeland and to protect our home together.”
#Taiwan is our homeland, and no matter where we go or what we encounter, she is always charming and beautiful. Every story on this land is etched in our memories. We, #ROCArmedForces, are fighting with all our heart to defend our homeland and to protect our home together. pic.twitter.com/oI2eply6N6
— 國防部 Ministry of National Defense, R.O.C. 🇹🇼 (@MoNDefense) April 9, 2023
Earlier in the day, Taiwan tracked 71 Chinese military aircraft and 9 naval ships around Taiwan till around 6 AM.
“71 PLA aircraft and 9 PLAN vessels around Taiwan were detected by 6 a.m.(UTC+8) today. R.O.C. Armed Forces have monitored the situation and tasked CAP aircraft, Navy vessels, and land-based missile systems to respond to these activities,” Taiwan’s Defense Ministry tweeted.
71 PLA aircraft and 9 PLAN vessels around Taiwan were detected by 6 a.m.(UTC+8) today. R.O.C. Armed Forces have monitored the situation and tasked CAP aircraft, Navy vessels, and land-based missile systems to respond these activities. pic.twitter.com/oZbmPZcDib
— 國防部 Ministry of National Defense, R.O.C. 🇹🇼 (@MoNDefense) April 9, 2023
It was further informed that 45 of the detected aircraft crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait and entered Taiwan’s southwest Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ).
“45 of the detected aircraft (SU-30*8, J-11*4, J-10*16, J-16*10, TB-001 UCAV, Y-9EW, Y-8 ASW, H-6K*2, Y-20, KJ-500) had crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait and entered Taiwan’s southwest ADIZ, flight paths as illustrated,” Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense tweeted.
45 of the detected aircraft(SU-30*8, J-11*4, J-10*16, J-16*10, TB-001 UCAV, Y-9EW, Y-8 ASW, H-6K*2, Y-20, KJ-500) had crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait and entered Taiwan’s southwest ADIZ, flight paths as illustrated.
— 國防部 Ministry of National Defense, R.O.C. 🇹🇼 (@MoNDefense) April 9, 2023
Later in the day, Taiwan’s Ministry of Defence informed about detecting 70 Chinese military aircraft and 11 naval vessels adding that 35 of these aircraft violated the northern, central, and southern median line of the Taiwan Strait as they entered the southwest ADIZ demarcated by Taiwan.
“70 PLA aircraft and 11 vessels were detected by 16:00(UTC+8) April 9th. 35 of the detected aircraft had crossed the northern, central, and southern median line of the Taiwan Strait and entered our southwest ADIZ,” a tweet by Taiwan’s Defence Ministry read.
70 PLA aircraft and 11 vessels were detected by 16:00(UTC+8) April 9th. 35 of the detected aircraft had crossed northern, central, and southern median line of the Taiwan Strait and entered our southwest ADIZ. pic.twitter.com/PitgcyfjPI
— 國防部 Ministry of National Defense, R.O.C. 🇹🇼 (@MoNDefense) April 9, 2023
China’s incursions into Taiwan’s airspace doubled in 2022
In January this year, it was reported that the number of Chinese warplane incursions into Taiwan’s ADIZ nearly doubled in 2022.
The number of sorties by fighter aircraft more than doubled from 538 in 2021 to 1,241 last year, while the number of bomber incursions—including those by the nuclear-capable H6—rose from 60 to 101. However, the military reported 71 drone incursions in the past year, all of which occurred after Nancy Pelosi’s visit. In reaction to Pelosi’s Taiwan visit in August last year, China not only fired 11 ballistic missiles into waters near the northern, southern, and eastern coasts of Taiwan but also imposed sanctions on Nancy Pelosi and her immediate family members.
De-facto US Embassy in Taiwan condemns China’s military drills
According to the de facto US embassy in Taiwan, the US is “comfortable and confident” that it has the necessary resources and capacity to maintain peace and stability in the region and is closely monitoring China’s maneuvers surrounding Taiwan.
According to a representative of the American Institute in Taiwan, which acts as an embassy in the absence of official diplomatic connections, the US channels of communication with China are still open and the US has continuously encouraged restraint and no change to the status quo.
Taiwan Relations Act
In 1979, the United States declared that preserving and promoting friendly, commercial, cultural among other ties between the people of Taiwan and the US would be a policy of the country.
“The United States shall provide Taiwan with arms of a defensive character and shall maintain the capacity of the United States to resist any resort to force or other forms of coercion that would jeopardize the security, or social or economic system, of the people of Taiwan,” the Act reads.
Air Defence Identification Zone
An Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ) encompasses the area of airspace outside of a nation’s sovereign territory where, in order to safeguard a nation’s security, aircraft must be identified, located, and put under air traffic control. Many countries, including Canada, South Korea, China, Japan, and Taiwan, have demarcated ADIZs with the United States being the first country to do so in 1950 during the Cold War.
Interestingly, India has also demarcated ADIZs near its territory. Controlled by the Indian Air Force, the Indian AIDZs are along the international borders with Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, over the Line of Actual Control with China, and two in the southern region of India.
Median Line between China and Taiwan
To understand what the Median Line is, it is important to know about the Taiwan Strait. Taiwan Strait connects the South China Sea to the East China Sea in the southwest. It serves as a vital passageway bridging the East China Sea and the South China Sea. The Taiwan Strait’s median line serves as an unofficial border between Taiwan and the Chinese mainland. The line crosses the middle of the Taiwan Strait and travels from a region close to the southern islands of Japan to a region in the southwest, close to Hong Kong.
Notably, in September last year, claiming that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China, the Chinese Foreign Ministry denied the existence of the Median Line.
