According to Taiwan Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng, Taipei has cautioned Beijing against conducting any military aircraft into Taiwanese airspace and has vowed to respond to any such intrusions with a “first strike.”
Chiu warned legislators that Taipei will respond if any Chinese fighter planes or drones entered Taiwan’s airspace on Wednesday during a hearing of the Legislature’s Foreign and National Defense Committee.
He noted that Taipei had previously sworn not to launch an attack until the Chinese army launched the first artillery or missile strikes against the autonomous island. But now that China has tools like drones, it is clear that the definition has altered. As a result, we have modified and will see any contact with aerial entities as a first strike, according to Chiu.
While stressing that Taiwan’s military “certainly has its red line” and will initiate countermeasures once that line in the island’s defense is crossed, the minister did not specifically state how Taipei intended to react should Chinese aircraft violate the island’s airspace.
Chiu asserted that Beijing’s forces have been purposefully crossing the unofficial “median line,” have “changed the status quo,” and have “established a new normal” in the Taiwan Strait, the body of water separating the island from mainland China. Chiu also charged that China had “destroyed” a tacit agreement on military movements in the strait.
The warning from Taipei comes as China increased its military pressure and carried out a number of military drills near the independent island since tensions between Beijing and Taipei grew in early August. The visit to Taiwan by Nancy Pelosi, speaker of the US House of Representatives, set off the escalation, despite repeated protestations from the Chinese government.
Despite having its own government since 1949, Taiwan has never formally broken away from China. In accordance with the One-China policy, Beijing regards the island as a portion of its territory. Despite reiterating China’s commitment to a peaceful “reunification” with the island, Chinese President Xi Jinping has not ruled out using military force to end the conflict.
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