Nearly 40 Chinese warplanes crossed the mid-line of the Taiwan Strait over the weekend as part of real-combat aerial military drills organized by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA). The exercise involved a combination of sophisticated fighter jets and heavy bombers, which Chinese mainland analysts described as being capable of “seizing air superiority and command of the sea over the island of Taiwan and in the Straits”.
Sep. 19, twelve J-16 fighters, two J-10 fighters, two J-11 fighters, two H-6 bombers and one Y-8 ASW crossed the midline of the #TaiwanStrait and entered #Taiwan’s southwest ADIZ. #ROCAF scrambled fighters, and deployed air defense missile system to monitor the activities. pic.twitter.com/qqpdEQSLol
— 國防部 Ministry of National Defense, R.O.C. 🇹🇼 (@MoNDefense) September 19, 2020
PLA crossed the median line of the #TaiwanStraits again today, severely violating our sovereignty and destabilise regional #peace. MND strongly condemns and urges PRC to practise self-restraint and don’t be a troublemaker in the #indopacific region.
— 國防部 Ministry of National Defense, R.O.C. 🇹🇼 (@MoNDefense) September 19, 2020
Sep. 21, Two Y-8 ASW entered #Taiwan’s southwest ADIZ. #ROCAF scrambled fighters, and deployed air defense missile system to monitor the activities. pic.twitter.com/kqVcZqrhB6
— 國防部 Ministry of National Defense, R.O.C. 🇹🇼 (@MoNDefense) September 21, 2020
The move, which is being seen as a significant escalation in cross-strait tensions, drew immediate criticism from Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, who said that China’s actions “clearly constitute a threat of force” and reveal the “true nature” of the Chinese communist government. She also stressed that the threat posed by an aggressive Beijing was limited to not just Taiwan, but the broader region. Additionally, she praised the “heroic performance” of air force pilots who intercepted the Chinese jets that approached the island.
However, Chinese authorities remained defiant on Monday and reiterated during a press conference that the country was well within its rights to conduct the drills where it did because Taiwan was an “inalienable” part of China and that there is no so-called mid-line in the Taiwan Strait.
The uptick in military activity came as a response to the United States Under Secretary of State Keith Krach’s visit to Taiwan. After HHS Secretary Alex Azar’s visit to the country last month, Krach is the second high-ranking US official to visit the island since 1979. Wang Wenbin, the spokesperson for the Chinese foreign ministry, said that the warming of relations between Taiwan and the US was in violation of the one-China principle and the three China-US joint communiques. He added that any efforts to support Taiwanese independence were “doomed to fail”.
Furthermore, Wenbin said that the US’ actions were seen as a political provocation against China and that they only contributed to weakened peace and stability in the region. Beijing doubled down on this message at the high-level meeting to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the United Nations on Monday, as President Xi Jinping strongly opposed unilateralism (seemingly pointing to the US), saying that no country had the right to “dominate global affairs, control the destiny of others, or keep advantages in development all to itself”.