Taiwan pledges to 'strike back' if Chinese aircraft or spy balloon attempts to infiltrate

Amid the brewing tensions between India and China, the Taiwanese Ministry of National Defence said on Tuesday that it would “strike back” if any Chinese military aircraft or “entities” enter the island’s airspace or territorial waters. The ministry’s remarks came during a press conference on Tuesday, Taiwan News reported. The press briefing was conducted by the Joint Operations Planning Office Director Major General Lin Wen-Huang, who said that country’s armed forces will continue to closely monitor developments in the Taiwan Strait. 

The 180-kilometre-wide strait separated the island of Taiwan and mainland China. Hence, this strait has been one of the central areas of tension between the two parties. In the Tuesday press conference, General Lin stated that if China’s  People's Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft and ships enter Taiwan's contiguous zone, it will deploy combat patrol aircraft, dispatch naval vessels, and deploy land-based air defence missile systems to track and monitor and counter their movement. The Taiwanese general made it clear that the actions will be taken in self-defence.  “If any aircraft or "entities" of the PLA fail to heed warnings and forcibly enter Taiwan's airspace and territorial waters, the armed forces will strike back in self-defence to resolutely safeguard the security of Taiwan's airspace and territorial waters, Lin further emphasised. Lin insisted that if a balloon is deemed to pose a threat to Taiwan, it will be “shot down and destroyed” to maintain the security of the island region. 

The incursion in the area continues 

The announcement at the press briefing came after the Ministry of National Defence informed that they have detected 8 PLA aircraft and 6 PLAN vessels around the island regions. The vessels were detected on Tuesday at 6 am (local time). The ministry also stated that the island region's armed forces monitored the situation and tasked the CAP aircraft, Navy vessels, and land-based missile systems to respond to the intrusive activities.

“8 PLA aircraft and 6 PLAN vessels around Taiwan were detected by 6 a.m.(UTC+8) today. R.O.C. Armed Forces have monitored the situation and tasked CAP aircraft, Navy vessels, and land-based missile systems to respond to these activities,” the ministry wrote on Twitter. “5 of the detected aircraft （SU-30*3, WZ-7 UAV RECCE & Z-9 ASW) had crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait and entered Taiwan’s southwest ADIZ,” the Ministry stated in a different tweet. Hence, the tensions between the two nations are far from over.