Taiwan Deploys Aircraft and Vessels After Spotting 17 Chinese Planes, 3 Ships

A Chinese military jet flies over Pingtan Island, one of mainland China's closest point from Taiwan, in Fujian Province, on Aug. 5, 2022. (Hector Retamal/AFP via Getty Images)

Taiwan’s military on Jan. 6 deployed aircraft and naval vessels after detecting 17 Chinese military aircraft and three naval vessels around the island nation, as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) intensified pressure on the self-ruled island.

Taiwan’s defense ministry reported tracking the CCP’s warplanes and naval vessels at around 6 a.m. (local time) on Friday, with four Chinese aircraft entering Taiwan’s southwest air defense identification zone (ADIZ).

The Taiwanese military responded by deploying aircraft, naval vessels, and land-based missile systems to monitor the CCP’s aircraft and vessels.

The ministry said it also detected 12 Chinese warplanes and four naval vessels surrounding Taiwan at 6 a.m. (local time) on Jan. 5, with four Chinese aircraft entering the island’s ADIZ.

The CCP claims Taiwan is a breakaway province that must be united with mainland China and vows to use military force to achieve this goal. Taiwan has been a self-governing democracy since the Chinese civil war ended in 1949 and has never been controlled by the CCP.

The CCP regularly uses its military to intimidate Taiwan, as seen on Christmas Day when it sent 71 planes and seven ships toward the island in its largest show of force since House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) visited Taiwan in August last year.

AFP reported that a total of 1,727 Chinese aircraft crossed into Taiwan’s ADIZ in 2022, surpassing 960 in 2021, citing data released by Taiwan’s defense ministry.

Taiwanese Foreign Minister Joseph Wu told The Guardian on Dec. 12, 2022, that the CCP’s military threats against Taiwan have become “more serious than ever.”

“We are quite sure that the Chinese may want to use another pretext of practicing their future attacks against Taiwan. So this is a military threat against Taiwan,” Wu said.

The CCP Silent On Taiwan’s Offer

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen said on Jan. 1 that Taiwan would be willing to help China deal with the COVID-19 outbreak following the CCP’s abrupt U-turn on its zero-COVID policy last month. But Beijing has yet to respond to her offer.

Victor Wang, chief of the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC), said on Thursday that Taiwan is awaiting Beijing’s response on the aid it requires to tackle the COVID surge before proceeding with any offer of assistance.

The CECC said that Taiwan could not assess the situation in China without a direct line of communication with the CCP, Taiwan News reported.

Patients wait to see the doctors at a fever clinic of Dongguan People's Hospital in Dongguan, Guangdong Province of China, on Dec. 20, 2022. (VGC/VCG via Getty Images)

The CCP abruptly abandoned its draconian zero-COVID policy last month as COVID cases surged and mass protests were mounting against the harsh restrictions on life in China. Throughout December, the Chinese media reported that the nation’s health services were overwhelmed by the rapid rise in cases.

As many as 37 million people per day were estimated to be contracting COVID in China, according to leaked minutes from a meeting of the country’s top health body confirmed by multiple news outlets.

Alex Tan, professor of international relations at the University of Canterbury, said it is unclear whether Taiwan can assist China in combating the COVID outbreak because the island is short on medicines.

“The Taiwanese would be able to [provide China] personal protective equipment. But I’m not quite sure whether in the medical side Taiwan would be able to help because they are also in relatively short supply,” he told Australian media on Jan. 2.

Tan added that Beijing is unlikely to accept Taipei’s offer and may impose preconditions that are difficult for Taiwan to fulfill.

“In the past, we’ve seen the PRC [People’s Republic of China] act that way, wherein it seems like they want to work with Taiwan, but then they create so many preconditions that make it very difficult for the Taiwanese authorities to accept because the offers [are] attached with some sovereignty issues and claims about ‘One China’ policy,” he said.

Lisa Bian and Sean Tseng contributed to this report.