Taipei: chinese warplane AFP database showed 159 incursions into Taiwan’s air defenses in November, the second-highest month on record as Beijing continues to mount military pressure on the democratic island.
Self-governing Taiwan remains under constant threat of invasion by China, which sees the island as its own territory and has vowed to one day seize it by force if necessary.
Beijing has increased pressure on Taiwan since the presidency Tsai Ing-wen came to power in 2016, as it rejected the stance that the island is part of “one China”.
In the past 14 months, saber-rattling has reached a new peak after Beijing sent an increasing number of warplanes to Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ), which Chinese military aircraft had previously largely avoided.
The escalating moves have raised fears among Western allies such as the United States and Japan that China may order an invasion of Taiwan, even if they consider it impossible for now.
On Tuesday, the Pentagon unveiled plans to upgrade and expand military facilities in Guam and Australia to direct deployments and reinforce bases in China.
Taiwan’s Defense Ministry began publicizing Chinese warplanes’ incursions into the ADIZ in September 2020, and AFP has created a database collecting flight details, which is growing in both size and frequency.
November was the third consecutive month that more than 100 warplanes entered.
Last month the incursions included 100 by fighter jets and nine by China’s nuclear-capable H6 bombers.
The defense sector is not the same as Taiwan’s territorial airspace. Instead, it covers a much larger area that overlaps with part of China’s own air defense detection area.
Beijing is adamant to investigate the southwestern part of the region. Near daily short flights strain Taiwan’s already aging fighter jet fleet, while Beijing also occasionally sends large numbers to show displeasure over specific incidents.
October remains the busiest month on record with 196 incursions, 149 of which were carried out in just four days as Beijing marked its annual national day.
November saw less infiltration on a large scale but almost daily movement of planes.
The Taiwanese military recorded only three days in November without any incursions.
“Recent situation is particularly serious with almost non-stop (infiltration),” Defense Minister chiu kuo-cheng said on Monday, the largest daily incursion of the month but only the fifth largest on record, after 27 Chinese planes took off a day earlier.
China “intends to gradually eliminate (us), to let you know that we have this power,” he said.
Chiu had previously warned that military tensions between Taiwan and China are at their highest level in four decades, adding Beijing would be in a position to launch a full-scale offensive in 2025.
In September, the third wettest month on record, an incursion took place every day except for one day, with a total of 117 sorties.
So far this year, around 900 Chinese aircraft have infiltrated Taiwan’s ADIZ. Since Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense first began making public in September last year, more than 1,000 flights have been carried out.
A biennial defense report released last month by Taipei’s Defense Ministry said China’s “repeated manipulation of gray zone threats” such as warplane incursions aimed to “capture Taiwan without a fight”.
“The PRC’s coercive action is clearly 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 succumb to the pressure of the CCP.”
Self-governing Taiwan remains under constant threat of invasion by China, which sees the island as its own territory and has vowed to one day seize it by force if necessary.
Beijing has increased pressure on Taiwan since the presidency Tsai Ing-wen came to power in 2016, as it rejected the stance that the island is part of “one China”.
In the past 14 months, saber-rattling has reached a new peak after Beijing sent an increasing number of warplanes to Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ), which Chinese military aircraft had previously largely avoided.
The escalating moves have raised fears among Western allies such as the United States and Japan that China may order an invasion of Taiwan, even if they consider it impossible for now.
On Tuesday, the Pentagon unveiled plans to upgrade and expand military facilities in Guam and Australia to direct deployments and reinforce bases in China.
Taiwan’s Defense Ministry began publicizing Chinese warplanes’ incursions into the ADIZ in September 2020, and AFP has created a database collecting flight details, which is growing in both size and frequency.
November was the third consecutive month that more than 100 warplanes entered.
Last month the incursions included 100 by fighter jets and nine by China’s nuclear-capable H6 bombers.
The defense sector is not the same as Taiwan’s territorial airspace. Instead, it covers a much larger area that overlaps with part of China’s own air defense detection area.
Beijing is adamant to investigate the southwestern part of the region. Near daily short flights strain Taiwan’s already aging fighter jet fleet, while Beijing also occasionally sends large numbers to show displeasure over specific incidents.
October remains the busiest month on record with 196 incursions, 149 of which were carried out in just four days as Beijing marked its annual national day.
November saw less infiltration on a large scale but almost daily movement of planes.
The Taiwanese military recorded only three days in November without any incursions.
“Recent situation is particularly serious with almost non-stop (infiltration),” Defense Minister chiu kuo-cheng said on Monday, the largest daily incursion of the month but only the fifth largest on record, after 27 Chinese planes took off a day earlier.
China “intends to gradually eliminate (us), to let you know that we have this power,” he said.
Chiu had previously warned that military tensions between Taiwan and China are at their highest level in four decades, adding Beijing would be in a position to launch a full-scale offensive in 2025.
In September, the third wettest month on record, an incursion took place every day except for one day, with a total of 117 sorties.
So far this year, around 900 Chinese aircraft have infiltrated Taiwan’s ADIZ. Since Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense first began making public in September last year, more than 1,000 flights have been carried out.
A biennial defense report released last month by Taipei’s Defense Ministry said China’s “repeated manipulation of gray zone threats” such as warplane incursions aimed to “capture Taiwan without a fight”.
“The PRC’s coercive action is clearly 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 succumb to the pressure of the CCP.”
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