Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and main opposition Kuomintang (KMT) on Saturday strongly denounced China for flying warplanes across the median line of the Taiwan Strait in northern Taiwan the previous day, reaffirming their resolution to defend the nation’s security.
The Ministry of National Defense (MND) condemned China for harming regional peace and stability in a statement released on Friday, confirming Chinese warplanes “intentionally breached” the median line of the Taiwan Strait earlier that same day.
The MND said it had monitored and deterred the movements of the planes by scrambling combat air patrols, sending radio warnings, and deploying defense missile systems, describing the rarely seen incursion of the median line as “an act of provocation.”
In a news release issued Saturday, the DPP said the repeated military harassment by Beijing has damaged cross-strait relations and severely undermined regional security.
The DPP urged China to immediately stop such “irresponsible” and “provocative” actions against Taiwan, which it said only prove that China is the “true culprit to blame” for tense relations across the Taiwan Strait, as well as the disruption of the status quo and rules-based international order.
While Taiwan will not respond to China’s ever-intensifying military intrusion with any move that could lead to military confrontation, the nation will not surrender to intimidation or military threats from China’s authoritarian regime, the DPP said.
If any inch of Taiwan’s sovereignty and way of life in a liberal and democratic society comes under threat, Taiwan has the determination and ability to defend itself, the DPP said.
In its statement, the KMT said the median line of the Taiwan Strait underlines peace and stability and as such, crossing it endangers Taiwan’s security and infringes on the rights of Taiwan’s people.
The KMT called on China to exercise self-restraint and minimize the risk of conflict, vowing that the party stands firm on its consistent desire to safeguard the Republic of China (Taiwan’s official name) and the values of freedom and democracy Taiwanese hold dear.
Late on Saturday, the MND said 5 Chinese military aircraft flew into the southwestern part of Taiwan’s ADIZ earlier in the day, including one Y-8 anti-submarine warplane, one Y-8 electronic warfare plane, one KJ-500 AEW&C, and two J-16 fighter jets.
In response, the ministry scrambled a combat air patrol, sent radio warnings, and deployed defense missile systems to track the five Chinese military planes that flew near the southern end of the median line, according to the ministry’s statement.
An ADIZ is an area declared by a country to allow it to identify, locate and control approaching foreign aircraft, and it is not part of territorial airspace as defined by international law.
Meanwhile, Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng (???) on Saturday inspected the Naval Fleet Command based in Kaohsiung where he instructed officials to closely monitor any movements involving the military forces of other countries in waters around Taiwan.
Chiu’s visit came amid reports published by Japan’s Ministry of Defense that two Chinese warships sailed southward in international waters between Yonaguni Island in Japan’s Okinawa Prefecture and Taiwan’s Yilan County on June 21 and three Russian warships traveled northward between Yonaguni Island and Iriomote-jima Island, also off the northeastern coast of Taiwan, on July 1 and July 2.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel