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“The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) dispatched eight fighter jets and two reconnaissance planes to the southwestern air defense identification zone (ADIZ) of Taiwan,” the Taiwanese government reported as quoted. Newsweek, Tuesday (30/3/2021).
Meanwhile, the Japanese Ministry of Defense recorded two additional spy planes during a maneuver in eastern Taiwan.
Taken together, the flight paths published by Taipei and Tokyo appear to show the PLA is projecting a presence on the three sides of democratic Taiwan, which Beijing claims is part of its territory.
Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense spokesman, Shih Shun-wen, at a press conference told reporters that the Taipei armed forces are fully aware of all aircraft and boat activity around the island, and they will respond accordingly.
Also read: US Worries China Is Ready to Take Many Risks to Conquer Taiwan He did not comment on what is seen as another escalation of military tensions in the Taiwan Strait, which is only 80 miles wide at its narrowest.
Local analysts, however, have pointed to precedents suggesting that the increase in Chinese air force drills near Taiwan is, at least in part, a political message for Taipei and Washington.
Chieh Chung, a researcher at the Association of Strategic Foresight, told the state-funded Central News Agency in Taipei that Monday’s PLA activity – the seventeenth day in March of Chinese aircraft entering ADIZ – was Beijing’s way of putting pressure on the island and expressed dissatisfaction with the “hot” relationship between the US and Taiwan.
The attack coincided with the arrival of Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr. in Taipei to promote a “travel bubble” between the two countries. Among the delegation was US Ambassador to Palau John Hennessey-Niland, who became the first US representative on duty to visit Taiwan since formal diplomatic relations ended more than four decades ago.
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