Taiwan Deploys Navy, Air Force as response to Chinese Drills

Taiwan
A Taiwanese Albatross UAV tracking a PLAN Type 056 corvette. NCSIST Albatross UAVs were scrambled to track Chinese naval and coast guard activities. Screen captures from Taiwan’s defense ministry video posted on social media.
China announced that it had launched military drills code-named “Joint Sword 2024B” around Taiwan early in the morning on October 14, 2024.
Share

A PLA spokesman stated that the drills are intended to serve as a “stern warning” to those pursuing “independence.”

The drills are also seen as China’s response to express dissatisfaction with the National Day address by Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te (賴清德). In his speech, President Lai asserted that China has “no right to represent Taiwan” and reiterated that the two sides of the Taiwan Strait are “not subordinate” to each other.

Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense (MND) reported that, as of 4:30 p.m. on Monday (Oct. 14), it had tracked 125 Chinese military aircraft and 34 naval and coast guard vessels operating around Taiwan.

In response, Taiwan’s defense ministry revealed that it had deployed warships, fighter jets, UAVs, and mobile anti-ship missile batteries. The ministry posted a video on social media showcasing these deployments, which included mobile radar systems and a mobile squadron of Hai Feng Group land-based anti-ship missile units. The video also showed the dispatch of an Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate and a La Fayette-design Kang Ding-class frigate to monitor the Chinese naval vessels. Additionally, NCSIST Albatross UAVs were scrambled to track Chinese naval and coast guard activities, while Taiwanese F-16 fighters filmed Chinese J-15 fighter jets using Sniper targeting pods.

Despite these actions, the Chinese PLA Eastern Theater Command announced via social media at approximately 6 PM GMT+8 that the drills had concluded.

MND spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) told Taiwanese media that, while China had declared the drills over, the Taiwanese military would remain on high alert. He emphasized that Taiwan’s armed forces would not become complacent, even though Chinese military vessels and aircraft had left the waters and airspace around Taiwan. Notably, a number of Chinese coast guard vessels remained in the area.

Taiwan’s Coast Guard Administration (CGA) also reported detecting two China Coast Guard ships west of Nangan Island and another two north of Dongyin Island as of 8 a.m. Monday. It was reported that a 10,000-ton Chinese coast guard vessel had taken part in law enforcement patrols near Taiwan and entered the “restricted waters” under Taiwan’s control. The CGA condemned these actions as incursion and harassment, rather than legitimate law enforcement, and reaffirmed Taiwan’s sovereignty. It urged China to recognize the importance of peace and stability in the region.

Professor Lin Ying-yu (林穎佑), a strategic studies scholar at the Graduate Institute of International Affairs and Strategic Studies at Taiwan’s Tamkang University, told the state-owned news agency CNA that the timing of China’s Joint Sword 2024-B military drills appeared to be a test of the U.S. ability to respond to crises in both the Taiwan Strait and the Korean Peninsula simultaneously.

Tags

Advertisement

Advertisement