Taiwan’s military issues a strong warning to China on Wednesday, saying that it will launch “counterattacks” if Chinese military planes or ships enter Taiwan’s territorial waters or airspace, both of which extend 12 nautical miles from the island’s coast.
“For PLA aircraft and warships that enter our territorial sea and airspace within 12 nautical miles, our armed forces will exercise the right to self-defense and counterattack,” said Maj. Gen. Lin Wen-huang, a Taiwanese military official.
China launched its largest-ever military drills around Taiwan at the beginning of August in response to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) visiting the island. At the time, The South China Morning Post reported that one Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) warship entered waters within 12 nautical miles of Taiwan’s coast, but Taiwanese officials later said Chinese ships stayed 24 nautical miles away during the drills.
China has kept up the military pressure on Taiwan as US delegations continued to visit the island throughout August. On Tuesday, Taiwan said it fired warning shots at a Chinese drone that was flying over the Kinmen islands, also known as the Quemoys, which is a Taiwanese-controlled archipelago on the southeastern coast of mainland China.
The drone that Taiwan fired on flew over Erdan, an island of the Kinmens that is only 2.5 miles from the Chinese mainland city of Xiamen. Chinese military analysts told The South China Morning Post that Taiwan firing on the drone escalated tensions and made a military clash more likely.
“If there are more visits [by foreign politicians] to Taiwan, and a closer connection between Taiwan and the US, mainland drones will be deployed more. The consequences are now becoming clear that Taiwan fired the first shot,” said Fu Qianshao, a retired PLA equipment specialist.
Taiwan said it began detecting Chinese drones over the Kinmens after Pelosi traveled to Taipei. Since her visit, there have been four more US delegations to the island as Washington shows no intention of trying to de-escalate tensions.
The Kinmen islands were shelled by China during both armed conflicts between the mainland and Taiwanese forces in the 1950s, known as the first and second Taiwan Strait crises. The US military intervened in both instances, and, in 1958, during the second Taiwan Strait crisis, there was a serious push by military planners to get the White House to use nuclear weapons against China.
How stupid, crazy can the Taiwanese be? Do they really want to be a second Ukraine? How lunatic can they be, is lunacy contagious now?
Yup. They caught it from Pelosi and other US Congress people visiting them.
So if your country was invaded you would what? just start licking them boots automatically right from the start ? Better to die on your feet than die on your knees
Why would a little dwarf provoke a giant? The Ukrainians make the same mistake Gorbachev made, trusting the US, that is a big mistake. They had the option to become NEUTRAL and prosper like Austria or Finland.
Taiwan is part of China as East Germany is part of Germany. They have the blessing of hindsight, as long as the corporate elite rules the world, there will be no peace. For Biden to be bellicose and provoke China after Iraq, Afghanistan, and the mess in Ukraine he has to be insane. We need regime change. We need real statesmen and women, but we don’t have any.
We need a real housecleaning.
Taiwan is not a country. Taiwan is an island which is part of China. That’s been officially the position of China, Taiwan and the US since the 1970s. Try to catch up.
The taiwanese don’t want communist big brother fascist controlling their life. They want independence. Who wants to live under a zero covid policy and have their lives on complete lock down at the dictation of government every few months ? You china simps are absurd. And you did not answer my question.
Taiwan used the same type of policies as China as it relates to COVID.
Taiwan disagrees with you commie simps
So you were rooting for the Serbians, Libyans, Iraqis, Afghans, and Syrians when we invaded?
If Russia planned, funded and helped overthrow the democratically elected Mexican government and replaced it with a friendly (to Russia) regime, starting arming them and moved closer and closer to our SW borders, what would you do?
That’s because Wash. guarantees American weapons and American lives to start another war?
They will sell weapons and will use the locals as proxies, boots on the ground, and no American soldiers, only mercenaries or contractors as they did in Afghanistan and are doing in Iraq and Ukraine and Europe. Americans don’t use boots on the ground, they drop bombs. They would have bombed Ukraine to powder by now. The US has problems enlisting qualified young, healthy, and educated people.
The name of the island is Formosa, not Taiwan..
Thats right. And it is a part of CHINA.
Time to blockade the island against any arms deliveries.
This is a Chinese issue, but it’s way too juicy for Wash. to stay out of it. Gotta keep the MIC in profits so they come back as campaign funds.
Feel free to counterattack, Taiwan. That will seal your fate. You’re part of China and attacking your country is sedition and your country will respond accordingly. That billion bucks Biden wants to send you won’t save you.
By the way, why bother mentioning the 1950’s crises – that was then, this is now. China is infinitely more powerful now than they were then, both in regards to Taiwan and in regards to the US. They have nukes and the means to deliver them. I live in San Francisco – Biden needs to cut this crap out before I glow in the dark.