Friday, June 25, 2021

The Chinese Nuclear Horn Moves Towards Taiwan: Daniel 7

Brad Lendon and Eric Chan, CNN

According to Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense, 28 Chinese military aircraft arrived in Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) on Tuesday. This is the largest invasion since Jeju began reporting such behavior on a regular basis last year.

Tuesday flights (including fighters, bombers, anti-submarines and airborne early warning aircraft) exceeded their previous peaks. Twenty-five aircraft were reported on April

Beijing claims full Taiwan sovereignty. Taiwan is a democracy of about 24 million people located off the southeastern coast of mainland China, but both countries have been governed separately for over 70 years.

There was no immediate comment from Beijing on Tuesday’s flight, but the news comes after a group of seven (G7) leaders issued a joint statement scolding China on Sunday. About a series of problems He emphasized the importance of peace and stability throughout the Taiwan Strait — China accused it of “slandering.”

But analysts said Tuesday’s flight could have served several purposes for China, giving PLA the PLA’s information and skills that would be needed in potential conflicts involving Taiwan. He said he was demonstrating the strength of China’s PLA to the domestic audience.

According to Timothy Heath, senior defense researcher in Beijing, it also “humiliated rebellion” against Beijing’s claim of sovereignty over Taiwan after the U.S. Air Force C-17 transport plane landed in Taipei on June 6. Following what seems to be happening. RAND Corporation think tank.

Landing of foreign military aircraft on land in other countries is strictly regulated by international standards and requires specific permits.

The C-17, which was carrying the Covid vaccine and the US Senate delegation to Taiwan, had no vaccine from Beijing.

Heath said Tuesday’s 28 flights to Taiwan’s air defense identification zone “did China’s military response to the U.S.-Taiwan incident, which Chinese authorities and the media accused of being very provocative. I showed it to the audience. “

“The aggression also informed Taiwan and the United States that China sees military cooperation as a threat,” Heath said.

Drew Thompson, a former Pentagon employee at Singapore’s Lee Quan Yu School of Public Policy, is very unlikely to consolidate 28 complex intrusions in just 48 hours from China’s Beijing-ranked G7 statement. Said.

“Can we quickly get a presidential-level decision in China about something as complicated as that? I doubt it,” Thompson said.

“This is a series of planned exercises, and I think we can probably conclude that the timeline could be tweaked and more aircraft could be added abruptly,” he said. It was.

Taiwan has been dissatisfied with repeated missions by the Chinese Air Force near an island concentrated in the southwestern part of the air defense identification zone near the Taiwan-controlled Platas Islands in recent months.

Thompson said Tuesday’s flight included an airborne early warning aircraft for intelligence gathering. These planes can measure Taiwan’s response and that information may be used when there is potential for future combat missions.

He said the PLA’s flight on Tuesday was compliant with international law because it did not violate Taiwan’s 12 nautical miles of coastal airspace and only invaded the ADIZ, which any country could freely set.

The Federal Aviation Administration has described ADIZ as “a designated area of ​​land or water airspace where the country requires immediate and reliable identification, location, and air traffic control of aircraft for national security.” It is defined.

According to the Taiwan Ministry of Defense, the latest Chinese missions include 14 J-16 fighters and 6 J-11 fighters, 4 H-6 bombers capable of carrying nuclear weapons, anti-submarines, and electronic warfare. Included an early warning aircraft.

The ministry added that Taiwanese fighters were dispatched to intercept and warn Chinese aircraft, and missile systems were also deployed to monitor them.

Not only did Chinese aircraft fly near the Platas Islands, but some bombers and fighters flew near the bottom of the island in southern Taiwan, according to a map provided by the ministry.

Meir Nuwens, a senior researcher in China’s defense policy at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, said Tuesday’s flight was different from China’s previous invasion of Taiwan’s ADIZ.

“The PLA seemed to have done something new with the aircraft’s configuration and various flight routes, so I put this in testing new skills again and (probably) how many to send a political signal. I have that useful timing, “she said.

China’s Ministry of Defense did not respond to requests for comment.

So far, China has explained the mission needed to protect the sovereignty of the country and deal with the “collusion” between Taipei and Washington, which has no formal diplomatic relations.

China is Taiwan’s most sensitive territorial dispute, explaining the red line that the United States must not cross. We have never abandoned the possibility of using force to ensure final unity.

And China likes to keep guessing its enemies, said Thompson, a former Pentagon official.

“This ambiguity about signaling, timing, packaging, and location makes it a very effective gray zone tool,” says Thompson.

“It says one thing to Japan, another to the United States, another to Taiwan.

“Send different messages to different people, but the common theme is” don’t oppose China “or face serious consequences, he said.

Additional reports by Reuters.

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