If there is one man whose gaze often turns to the sky, it is the defense minister of democratic Taiwan, Chiu Kuo-cheng: almost every day, exerting ever stronger military pressure, China sends bombers and spy planes through the “identification and defense zone” of the island that Beijing claims as its own. Enough to test the latest equipment of its People’s Liberation Army and put Taipei’s anti-missile defenses on alert without triggering open war – which would be caused by an incursion into its airspace proper.
On February 5, this martial routine experienced a subtle innovation: as officially confirmed on Tuesday, February 15, Shih Shun-wen, the spokesperson for the Taiwanese ministry, a small Chinese civilian jet, a Harbin Y-12, was spotted near Dongyin, in the Matsu Archipelago, northwest of the island. It did not enter the national space, but that was enough to worry Taiwan. Because, in the opinion of experts, such a theft is exactly the kind of minor incident that could lead to an escalation, setting the stage for the annexation of Taiwan by force.
Chain of missions
“We cannot exclude that they use a civilian device to test the responses of our army”, said the spokesperson. Rumors had reported a second Chinese incursion into the sky of another Taiwanese archipelago, that of Pratas, in the southwest, which the ministry refuted.
In 2021, China had sent a record number of military aircraft to Taiwan’s identification zone: 961 throughout the year, compared to 380 aircraft deployed in just a few months in 2020. The pressure had peaked between the 1er October 2021, National Day in China, and October 4, with 149 devices in the sky.
At the start of 2022, Chinese airmen continue to chain missions, while American forces train with their allies in the region. On January 23, a new armada mobilized the Taiwanese air defense: two Y-9 transport planes, 34 J-10 and J-16 fighters, and an H6 long-range strategic bomber. The following day was spotted, for the first time, a J-16D, the brand new multirole aircraft, equipped with electronic warfare equipment capable of neutralizing the radars and communication systems of the opposing army.