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China did not enter airspace of South China Sea island: defense ministry

ROC Central News Agency

02/14/2022 02:03 PM

Taipei, Feb. 14 (CNA) Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense (MND) has denied that Chinese warplanes breached the airspace of the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Islands in the disputed South China Sea.

The clarification was made late Sunday after several local news outlets ran reports of an incursion into the Pratas Islands' territorial airspace by the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Saturday.

The reports cited information released by a privately-run Facebook page that regularly records the PLA's incursions into Taiwan's air defense identification zone (ADIZ).

According to an alleged transcript of the radio warning Taiwan's Air Force issued to the Chinese aircraft, an unnamed Taiwanese pilot warned an unidentified PLA warplane "that you have entered our territorial airspace," while asking the aircraft to leave immediately.

The transcript was published on the Facebook page titled "Taiwan's Southwestern Airspace," without providing any information as to how the transcript was obtained. It only says the radio warning was issued when a number of PLA aircraft was spotted near the airspace of the Taiwan-held Dongsha Islands, also known as Pratas Islands, in the South China Sea.

In response, the MND refuted the reports.

According to a flight routes chart released by the MND, five PLA warplanes, including three J-16 jets, one J-11 jet, and one Y-8 anti-submarine warplane, were seen flying into the ADIZ between Taiwan proper and the Dongsha islands on Saturday.

None of the PLA aircraft, however, intruded into the territorial airspace of Dongsha, it shows.

Without directly confirming or refuting the authenticity of the transcript on the Facebook page, the MND said "such a radio warning was issued as a 'precautionary approach'," without elaborating.

The MND added that it has a full grasp of China's military maneuvers near waters and airspace surrounding Taiwan and will take "appropriate responsive measures accordingly."

ADIZs are areas declared by a country to allow it to identify, locate and control approaching foreign aircraft, but such zones are not considered territorial airspace.

A country's territorial airspace extends 12 nautical miles from the coastline of its territory. Countries have the right to destroy any hostile aircraft which enters its territorial airspace without permission.

Dongsha, which lies 450 kilometers southwest of Kaohsiung, southern Taiwan, is one of two territories controlled by Taiwan in the South China Sea. The other is Taiping Island, which lies 1,600 km southwest of Kaohsiung.

Currently, the two locations are manned by Coast Guards personnel trained by Taiwan's Marine Corps, but the MND said in 2020 that it would temporarily post marines on Pratas Island amid reports the Chinese military was planning to conduct drills in the area.

The military has never revealed details, such as the number of marines deployed, when they arrived on the island, or how long they would stay.

The South China Sea region is claimed in its entirety or in part by Taiwan, Brunei, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam as their territory.

(By Joseph Yeh)

Enditem/cs/ASG