Defense ministry general says Taiwan will deal with any intrusion of its airspace ‘fearlessly without evasion or weakness’
Taiwan News
Date: 2016/12/14
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer
In the event that a Chinese military aircraft enters Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ), the
Squadron of Taiwanese Air Force F-16 fighter jets. (By Military News Agency)
Republic of China (ROC) military will deal with the situation “fearlessly without evasion or weakness,” a Ministry of National Defense (MND) official said on Tuesday.
The Air Force’s response would vary depending on whether the aircraft acted with hostile intent, Major General Chung Shu-ming (鍾樹明), director of the ministry’s Joint Operations Division, said at a regular press briefing.
He was responding to a question on how the military would handle intrusion of Taiwanese airspace by Chinese military aircraft, a scenario that has suddenly become more plausible as Chinese military jets flew close to Taiwan’s air defense identification zone twice in two weeks, in the wake of the controversial phone call between President-elect Donald Trump and Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen which took place on Dec. 2.
The military closely monitors China’s military maneuvers and was fully aware of the two training missions near Taiwan’s ADIZ, said Chung. [FULL STORY]
