(JustPatriots.com)- Taiwan declared that Beijing’s threat was “more serious than ever” following China’s large-scale military exercise on Tuesday, which included fighter jets and heavy bombers.
In what has been a nearly daily occurrence, 29 People’s Liberation Army (PLA) planes flew into the island’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ). Taiwan’s air force scrambled fighter aircraft and prepared air defense missiles.
Taiwan’s foreign minister, Joseph Wu, tweeted on Wednesday from the ministry’s account that the latest large-scale exercise by the PLA proves authoritarian China’s military danger is more accurate than ever. But Taiwan won’t give in and cede its independence and democracy to the powerful aggressor. “Zero chance! JW”
He signed off by adding his initials.
An ADIZ is a nation’s self-declared airspace buffer zone where passing military and civilian aircraft are asked to identify themselves. Although the zones are not governed by international law, Taiwan’s neighbors, particularly Japan, South Korea, and China, uphold them.
According to Newsweek, the most recent PLA air exercise included 12 Chinese fighter jets, six nuclear-capable heavy bombers, and several support aircraft used for intelligence gathering, electronic and anti-submarine warfare, airborne early warning, and control, and long-range refueling.
Chinese airplanes were visible flying through southern Taiwan and towards the western Pacific, according to an illustration issued by Taiwan’s Defense Ministry on Tuesday.
According to Newsweek, it was the most intense air force display near the island since Taipei detected 30 PLA sorties on May 30 and 39 sorties on January 23.
Since September 2020, Chinese aircraft have repeatedly violated Taiwan’s ADIZ, and Taiwan has made a public statement against the flights, which it views as provocative. The island nation’s steadfastest international ally, the United States, has warned that Beijing’s military drills pose a threat and a chance of error.
Gerald Brown, a defense analyst based in Washington, claims that 972 Chinese aircraft sorties entered Taiwan’s ADIZ in 2021, more than double the 380 flights the Taiwanese authorities predicted would occur in 2020.
There have been 522 PLA air intrusions near Taiwan so far this year.
Taiwan does not record PLA operations along the “median line,” the unofficial barrier running along the center of the Taiwan Strait on the mainland. Additionally, it does not consistently disclose activities outside of its ADIZ.
