24 Chinese military aircraft spotted around Taiwan

Taiwan responded by sending planes and navy ships, as well as land-based missiles, to monitor PLA activity…reports Asian Lite News

The Ministry of National Defence (MND) detected 24 Chinese military aircraft and five navy vessels around Taiwan between 6 am on Sunday (June 11) and 6 am on Monday (June 12), according to Taiwan News.

Taiwan News is an English-language newspaper in Taiwan. Of the 24 People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft, 10 entered Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ) and crossed the Taiwan Strait median line, including four Shenyang J-11 fighter jets, four Shenyang J-16 combat jets, and two Sukhoi Su-30 fighter planes, according to Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defence (MND).

Taiwan responded by sending planes and navy ships, as well as land-based missiles, to monitor PLA activity, according to Taiwan News.

Beijing has sent 141 military aircraft and 53 naval ships around Taiwan so far this month. According to Taiwan News, China has intensified its use of grey zone tactics since September 2020 by gradually increasing the number of military aircraft and naval ships patrolling around Taiwan.

Grey zone tactics are defined as “an effort or series of efforts beyond steady-state deterrence and assurance that attempts to achieve one’s security objectives without resorting to direct and substantial use of force.”

Last month, a special report titled “Ten for Taiwan”, which outlines steps needed to prevent war with China over Taiwan, was released by a Select Subcommittee, New York Post reported.

Following the report’s release, US Representative Mike Gallagher told the Post about the importance of a bipartisan approach and how he doesn’t believe foreign policy should be left to President Biden alone. Gallagher in an interview with The Post said: “Here you have Article One [of the Constitution] – the legislative branch – coming out identifying what we need to do to push back on CCP aggression and that sort of inherent recognition foreign policy is not the sole province of the executive.”

The report, titled “Ten for Taiwan,” offers lawmakers a blueprint on what Congress can do to deter Beijing from launching an assault on the self-governed, democratic island just 100 miles off of China’s Southeastern coast, the subcommittee chairman said, according to New York Post.

“Congress needs to claw back some of its authority and particularly, we want our grand strategy vis-a-vis China to last longer than a single administration. We want it to rest on a bipartisan framework because this competition is not a short one,” Gallagher said.

While Beijing has never governed the island, it considers Taiwan as China’s sovereign territory despite Taipei’s objections. The US acknowledges China’s stance under the “One China Policy,” but Washington considers the island’s sovereignty status unsettled, as per New York Post.

For years, defence experts and top military officials have warned of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s intent to “reunify” with Taiwan either diplomatically or by force, the latter of which the US has a responsibility to defend against under the 1978 Taiwan Relations Act. (ANI)

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