Beijing has been ramping up pressure on Taiwan since President Tsai Ing-wen came to power in 2016.
Taipei, Taiwan:
According to an AFP database in November, Chinese warplanes made 159 incursions into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone, the second-highest month on record as Beijing continued to pressure military on this democratic island.
Self-governing Taiwan is living under the constant threat of invasion by China, which considers the island its own territory and has vowed to take it over one day, by force if necessary.
Beijing has been ramping up pressure on Taiwan since President Tsai Ing-wen came to power in 2016, when she rejected the stance that the island was part of “one China”.
In the past 14 months, sword attacks have reached new heights after Beijing began sending more and more fighter jets into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ), where military planes of China was previously mostly avoided.
The escalating moves have raised concerns among Western allies such as the United States and Japan that China could order an invasion of Taiwan, even if they consider that unlikely at the moment. this.
On Tuesday, the Pentagon revealed plans to increase deployments and bases targeting China, and upgrade and expand military facilities in Guam and Australia.
Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense began publicizing the intrusion of Chinese fighter jets into the ADIZ in September 2020, and AFP has built up a database that collects detailed information about the flights, growing both in size and scope. size and frequency.
November was the third month in a row that more than 100 fighter jets took off.
Attacks last month included 100 by fighter jets and nine by Chinese nuclear-capable H6 bombers.
‘Almost nonstop’
The defensive area is not like Taiwan’s territory. Instead, it covers a much larger area that overlaps part of China’s air defense identification zone.
Beijing has been trying to probe the southwestern part of the area. Closer to daily smaller flights stress Taiwan’s aging fighter fleet, while Beijing sometimes sends larger numbers to express displeasure over specific events.
October remains the busiest month on record with 196 visits, 149 of which were made in just four days as Beijing marks the annual National Day.
November sees fewer large-scale intrusions but few planes on a near-daily basis.
The Taiwanese military recorded only three days in November without a single incursion.
Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng said on Monday, after a sortie by 27 Chinese planes a day earlier, the largest attack of the month but only the fifth largest daily. access the file.
“China’s intention is to slowly exhaust (us), to let you know that we have this power,” he added.
Chiu previously warned that military tensions between Taiwan and China were at a four-decade high, adding that Beijing would be able to launch an all-out invasion by 2025.
In September, the third-highest record month, there was one attack a day spaced out for a total of 117 sorties.
So far this year, nearly 900 Chinese aircraft have infiltrated Taiwan’s ADIZ. Since Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense first began publicizing the attacks last September, more than 1,000 flights have been carried out.
A biennial defense report released by Taipei’s Ministry of National Defense last month said China’s “routine manipulation of gray zone threats”, such as warplane incursions The competition was aimed at “taking Taiwan without fighting”.
“The PRC’s coercive action is clearly intended to bring Taiwan to its knees and keep us away from our democratic partners,” Foreign Minister Joseph Wu tweeted on Monday.
“Make no mistake: we will never bow to the pressure of the CCP.”
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and was automatically generated from the feed provided.)
