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To deter Taipei from continuing to deepen ties with the western nations and other like-minded democracies, PLA military aircrafts repeatedly breached Taiwan’s ADIZ more than 70 times last year, apart from staging a series of large-scale military exercises, realistic combat drills, and operations in the territorial waters.
New Delhi: Ever since 1994, the People’s Republic of China has undertaken a series of intimidating military actions to prevent Taipei from mobilizing international support for its independent status through high profile visitation diplomacy. However, despite its failed military coercion, Beijing has continued to fuel unnecessary tension in the region.
However, 2020 witnessed an uptick in these threats, with China ratcheting up the risk of military confrontation in the Taiwan Strait. In order to deter Taipei from continuing to deepen ties with the western nations and other like-minded democracies, PLA military aircrafts repeatedly breached Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) more than 70 times last year, apart from staging a series of large-scale military exercises in the territorial waters.
Since the beginning of 2020, air and sea forces of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army have intensified their preparatory work for a military struggle against Taiwan. The following are those exercise and training activities proactively announced or indirectly confirmed by the Defense Ministry and relevant Theater Command Spokespersons.
February 9 – China’s Eastern Theater Command staged a Navy and Air Force combat readiness patrol, deploying multiple types of weaponry , including destroyers, frigates, bombers, fighter planes, and early warning aircraft, and others as a part of its ‘system of systems’ operation. Military planes flew patrols crossing the Bashi Channel and Miyako Strait, performing drills focused on relevant realistic combat operations.
February 10 – The Eastern Theater Command forces in a sea area southeast of Taiwan island organized and performed joint drills of Navy and Air Force, primarily performing air-to-ground assaults, firepower support, and training of other realistic mission objectives.
March 16 – PLA aircrafts including the KJ-500, J-11, and others approached the ADIZ over the sea to the southwest of Taiwan and performed night-time training.
Mid-August – Multiple services of the Chinese PLA Eastern Theater Command mobilized a number of forces grouped into ‘system of systems’ in multiple directions, consecutively holding realistic combat drills on the southern and northern ends of the Taiwan Strait.
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September 18 – Navy and Air Force of the Eastern Theater Command in the Taiwan Strait and nearby regions performed combat readiness security patrols over several consecutive days and sea-air joint realistic combat drills. Regarding the concerns voiced from Taiwan over the PLA military aircraft crossing the ADIZ during this large-scale exercise training activity, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin and Taiwan Affairs Office spokesperson Ma Xiaoguang held separate press conferences on September 21 and 30 wherein they clearly voiced that Taiwan is an inseparable part of Chinese territory, there does not exist a so-called “midline of the strait.”
October 10 – A multi-arm joint three-dimensional sea-crossing and landing drill exercise was simultaneously staged in multiple locations in the waters of the two provinces of Fujian and Guangdong. Playing the leading role was an amphibious combined arms force of the Eastern Theater Command Army. A few days later, the relevant video [was so popular it figuratively] maxed out the Internet. This was the first-time in several years that Beijing-controlled media revealed the entire process of an “island landing military drill.”
On 17 September 2020, the Taiwan defense department created a special section on its official webpage called the “latest military situation” which compiles actions performed by the PLA that they claim to have observed. Based on their statistics, from 17 September till end of December, the PLA military aircraft have entered the ADIZ over 70 days, including fighter aircraft such as the SU-30, J-16, J-10, J-11, the H-6 bomber, and special aircraft such as the KJ-500, Y-8 ASW patrol aircraft, Y-8 technical reconnaissance aircraft, Y-9 communications confrontation aircraft, and others.
Apart from these military activities, another significant point was observed in the statements issued by the Chinese Defense Ministry and relevant Theater Command spokespersons. These officials repeatedly directed that, the combat readiness patrols, joint exercises, or other military activities organized by the PLA not only demonstrated the determination and ability to protect national sovereignty and territorial integrity but were primarily targeted at interference from external forces and the extremely small number of “Taiwan independence” separatists and their anti-Chinese activities.
In one such statement Defense Ministry Spokesperson Wu Qian referred Taiwan as a “Mantis” and China as a “Chariot.” He was quoted as saying that ‘I want to warn those “Taiwan independence” separatist forces that there is no way out for you in a confrontation, and using military force to seek independence is a dead end. Don’t overestimate yourself and try something impossible like a mantis attempting to stop a chariot, or you be destroyed.’
Defence analysts claimed that an uptick of the PLA incursions in the ADIZ and military exercises in air and water are a sign that Beijing may be seeking a distraction from a slew of domestic political and economic issues, as well as the mounting international pressure including the novel coronavirus pandemic, trade war, and border conflict with India.
