Don’t get too close to Taiwan
Taiwan's defence ministry warned China of strong countermeasures yesterday if its forces got too close to the island, as Beijing defended its incursions into Taiwan's air defence zone as "just" moves to protect peace and stability.
Military tensions with China, which claims Taiwan as its own territory, are at their worst in more than 40 years, Taiwan's defence minister said last week, adding China will be capable of mounting a "full scale" invasion by 2025.
He was speaking after China mounted four straight days of mass air force incursions into Taiwan's air defence identification zone that began October 1, part of a pattern of what Taipei views as stepped up military harassment by Beijing.
No shots have been fired and China's aircraft have stayed well away from Taiwan's airspace, concentrating their activities in the southwestern corner of Taiwan's air defence zone. In a report to parliament, Taiwan's defence ministry said their forces will adhere to the principle of "the closer they are to the island, the stronger the countermeasures", though it gave no details.
The ministry expressed concern again of China's growing prowess, with new aircraft carriers, nuclear-powered submarines and amphibious assault ships coming into service. China's capabilities in denying access and blockading the Taiwan Strait "are becoming more and more complete, which will pose serious challenges and threats to our defence operations", it added.
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