The Author is Former Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Training Command, IAF

As per the Ministry of National Defence of the Republic of China, the name by which Taiwan’s Ministry of Defence is formally known as, a fleet of 28 military aircraft belonging to the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) of China, intruded into the Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ) of Taiwan on June 15 this year. The fleet of aircraft of the PLAAF of China responsible for the alleged intrusion into the ADIZ of Taiwan, consisted of 14 J-16 and six J-11 fighters as well as four H-6 bombers that are capable of being equipped with nuclear weapons. In addition, there were four other platforms which included anti-submarine aircraft, electronic warfare aircraft as well as early warning aircraft. It should be evident that an exercise by such a large and varied fleet of military aircraft could not have been undertaken without elaborate, meticulous and long term planning by the PLAAF as also with due clearance from the highest military authority and from the political leadership of the nation.

AIR DEFENCE IDENTIFICATION ZONE

An ADIZ of a nation is an area outside of a country’s territorial boundaries and national airspace. Even though, technically the ADIZ of a nation is designated as “international airspace”, an aircraft belonging to any other country planning to fly through it is still required to be identified, regulated, monitored and controlled by the Air Traffic Control (ATC) of the affected nation that has suzerainty over the ADIZ. This obviously is in the interest of national security of the nation in question which in this case happens to be Taiwan.

As is well known, violation of the airspace under control of Taiwan by military aircraft of China has become a frequent occurrence more so over the last two years. Such missions by the aircraft of the PLAAF also help the armed forces of China to obtain intelligence information though aerial reconnaissance carried out by some of the intruding aircraft that are suitably equipped for this purpose. This enables the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) of China to update the military picture around Taiwan as also to keep an eye on military activities by other nations that support Taiwan against China, the most important nation being the United States (US).

INCURSION INTO ADIZ OF TAIWAN ON JUNE 15

The incursion on June 15 this year into the ADIZ of Taiwan by the fleet of 28 aircraft belonging to the PLAAF of China, comes after a similar exercise undertaken by China on April 12 this year. In the case of incursion on April 12 this year, the strength of the fleet of aircraft of the PLAAF was 25, only marginally lower as opposed to 28 in the incursion on June 15 that is under discussion. As per the Ministry of Defence of Taiwan, some of the combat aircraft from among the intruding fleet of aircraft, flew in an area close to the Pratas Island which has an area of about 240 hectares and is the largest island in the South China Sea located about 170 nautical miles South East of Hong Kong. The Pratas Island is administered as part of Cijin District of Kaohsiung in Taiwan. The bomber aircraft as also some of the fighter aircraft flew around the Southern part of Taiwan close to the bottom tip of the island. The Ministry of Defence of Taiwan went on to clarify that combat aircraft of the Air Force of Taiwan were scrambled to intercept and warn the intruding Chinese aircraft as also, ground based air defence missile units were activated and placed on a state of high alert to track the path of the intruding aircraft and to be prepared to take action as directed by the appropriate authority.

China is of the view that it does not need permission or clearance from any agency especially from the Government of Taiwan which it does not recognise

As has already been a well established fact, the latest incursion into the ADIZ of Taiwan that was without any clearance by or communication with the ATC of Taiwan, is a continuation of China’s intentions and efforts to demonstrate its capability to dominate the airspace over Taiwan which it considers as an integral part of its own territory. China therefore is of the view that it does not need any permission or clearance from any agency especially from the so called Government of Taiwan which it does not recognise. China’s stand is that there is only one China in the world and Taiwan is part of it. The Government of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is the sole legal government of China. Taiwan thus is an integral part of China and hence it does not recognise the present Government of Taiwan.

LANDING OF C-17 - A TRIGGERING FACTOR

One event that is believed to have triggered the latest round of incursion into the ADIZ of Taiwan, was the landing of a C-17 Globemaster III, a strategic heavy-lift aircraft of the US Air Force, at the Taipei Songshan Airport in Taiwan on Sunday June 06 this year. This facility where the C-17 landed, is a mid-size international airport as well as a military airbase located in Songshan, serving Taipei, the capital of the Republic of China (Taiwan). On board the C-17 were three Senators of the US namely Tammy Duckworth and Chris Coons who are from the Democratic Party and Dan Sullivan who is from the Republican Party. The three US Senators had come with only an offer from the Government of the United States of America to the Government of Taiwan for the donation of 7,50,000 doses of vaccine that is a preventive medicine against infection by COVID-19. This gesture was essentially to help Taiwan cope with the shortage of this badly required drug which is in short supply as export of this medicine to Taiwan had been blocked by China. The three US Senators called on the President of Taiwan, Tsai Ingwen to formally convey the message from the US Government regarding the offer of the vaccine. The C-17 thus had a stopover at the Songshan airport only for three hours.

Although seemingly insignificant to the rest of the world, the landing of a military transport aircraft of the US in Taiwan, is viewed by China as an extremely provocative action and a clear defiance by the US in collusion with Taiwan. The landing of the C-17 military transport aircraft in Taiwan has been described by the Government of PRC as a deliberate and vile political provocation that was an irresponsible act as well as dangerous. China also sees the landing of a US Air Force aircraft in Taiwan as a sign of military cooperation between the US and Taiwan and hence regards it as a threat to its own security. The purpose for which an American military aircraft was made to land at a military base in Taiwan, could have been fulfilled equally well by a civil airliner or alternatively by an unmarked private jet as is generally the practice followed for visits by senior functionaries from the US.

It is quite obvious that the US Government opted to employ a military transport aircraft of the US Air Force to exploit the opportunity to convey a clear message to China in a very subtle manner. China also views the landing of a military transport aircraft of the US Air Force at a military air base in Taiwan as a clear defiance of the claim by Beijing of sovereignty over Taiwan. In the final analysis, this step by the US will only serve to further escalate the existing tension between China and Taiwan.