Taipei
\nChina\u2019s military is trying to wear out Taiwan\u2019s armed forces with its repeated missions nearby, but Taiwan is capable of responding, Taipei\u2019s defence minister said on Monday after a renewed spike in Chinese air force activity.
\nTaiwan scrambled fighters again on Sunday after 27 Chinese air force planes again entered its air defence identification zone, or ADIZ.
\n\u201cTheir intention is to slowly exhaust, to let you know that we have this power,\u201d Defence Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng told reporters on the sidelines of a parliamentary briefing for lawmakers, when asked about the latest incursion.
\n\u201cOur national forces have shown that, while you may have this power, we have countermeasures.\u201d
\nTaiwan has complained for a year or more of repeated missions by China\u2019s air force near the democratically governed island and in its ADIZ – not its territorial air space, but a broader area Taiwan monitors and patrols that acts to give it more time to respond to any threats.
\nTaiwan, which Beijing claims as its own and has not ruled out taking by force, calls China\u2019s activities \u201cgrey zone\u201d warfare.
\nChiu, who described the situation as \u201cvery serious\u201d, said Taiwan will continue to analyse the types of aircraft China uses to inform future plans.
\nThe latest Chinese mission included 18 fighters jets plus five nuclear-capable H-6 bombers, as well as, unusually, a Y-20 aerial refuelling aircraft, Taiwan\u2019s Defence Ministry said.
\nThe bombers and six of the fighters flew to the south of Taiwan into the Bashi Channel which separates the island from the Philippines, then out into the Pacific before heading back to China, according to a map the ministry provided.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Taipei China\u2019s military is trying to wear out Taiwan\u2019s armed forces with its repeated missions nearby, but Taiwan is capable of responding, Taipei\u2019s defence minister said on Monday after a renewed spike in Chinese air force activity. Taiwan scrambled fighters again on Sunday after 27 Chinese air force planes again entered its air defence identification […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-230065","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n