Chinese military conducts mock 'blockade' of Taiwan
ROC Central News Agency
08/26/2023 08:35 PM
Taipei, Aug. 26 (CNA) China sent a total of 32 military aircraft and nine naval vessels into Taiwan's air defense identification zone (ADIZ) and waters around the island over a 24-hour period as of Saturday morning, in what an expert described as a mock "blockade."
According to the Ministry of National Defense (MND), the eight J-10 fighter jets, four JH-7 fighter-bombers, two Sukhoi Su-30 fighter jets, one TB-001 reconnaissance drone, one BZK-005 reconnaissance drone, one CH-4 reconnaissance drone, one Y-8 anti-submarine warfare aircraft, one Y-9 electronic warfare aircraft, and one KJ-500 airborne early warning aircraft detected in Taiwan's ADIZ between 6 a.m. Friday and 6 a.m. Saturday deviated from the usual flight paths taken by intruding People's Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft.
The MND said that eight of the aircraft -- the J-10s, Su-30s, BZK-005, and TB-001 -- crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait, with the two drones among the Chinese aircraft that took unusual paths.
The BZK-005 flew along the northern part of Taiwan's west coast in a clockwise direction to the southern part of the east coast before turning back and following the original path, while the TB-001 also flew from the northern part of the west coast to the southern part of the east coast but in a counterclockwise direction, according to the MND.
The MND added that nine Chinese military vessels were also detected in waters around Taiwan during the same 24-hour period.
The MND said that it had deployed combat air patrol aircraft, vessels, and coastal missile systems in response to the incursions of Taiwan's ADIZ.
China's exercises also raised alarm in Japan, whose defense ministry on Friday issued a press release in which it identified the same drones.
According to Japan's defense ministry, two Chinese H-6 bombers also transit the Miyako Strait before turning back on Friday.
It said the country's Air Self-Defense Force's Southwestern Wing scrambled fighter jets in response to both situations.
Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a scholar at the government-funded Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said China wanted to give the impression that it had formed a blockade with the exercises, which saw the two drones' flight paths, along with that of the Y-8, coming from the southwestern ADIZ, converge at a spot off Taiwan's southeast coast in the Pacific Ocean.
Su said that this "blockade" consisted of two layers, including two H-6 bombers that Japan's defense ministry said transited the Miyako Strait before turning back.
Su said that the unusual flight paths of the BZK-005 and the TB-001 overlapped that of the Y-8 in an air space off Taiwan's southeast coast above the Pacific, which indicated that the aircraft likely rendezvoused there to share intelligence between themselves and naval vessels involved in the exercises.
The presence of the three types of aircraft indicated that the People's Liberation Army (PLA) was training its intelligence reconnaissance and surveillance capabilities, as these types of aircraft are often assigned those tasks, with Y-8 sometimes used interchangeably with Y-9 electronic warfare aircraft, Su added.
Su said that as with every PLA maneuver, there was a political motivation, which in this case was threefold.
First and foremost, China was protesting the U.S.' proposed sale of infrared search and track systems (IRST) for Taiwan's F-16V aircraft, which the Pentagon notified Congress of on Wednesday, Su said.
Second, Beijing was venting its displeasure over President Tsai Ing-wen's (蔡英文) planned visit to Eswatini, Taiwan's sole African ally, from Sept. 5-8, Su said.
At the same time, China is attempting to rattle the people of Taiwan and impact voters' decisions ahead of next year's presidential election, Su said.
(By Sean Lin)
Enditem/ASG
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