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TAIPEI: Taiwan has spent nearly US $ 900 million this year fighting Chinese incursions into its air force, the island’s defense minister said on Wednesday (October 7), describing the pressure it faces as “great.”
China, which claims democratic Taiwan as its own territory, has intensified its military activity near the island, responding to what China calls “collusion” between Taiwan and the United States.
China has been angered by increased US support for Taiwan, including visits by senior US government officials and rising arms sales.
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In recent weeks, Chinese warplanes have crossed the middle line of the Taiwan Strait, which normally serves as an unofficial buffer zone, and have flown multiple missions to the air defense identification zone of southwest Taiwan.
Speaking in parliament, Taiwan’s Defense Minister Yen De-fa said the air force had fought 2,972 times against Chinese jets this year at a cost of NT $ 25.5 billion (US $ 886.49 million). .
“Recently, the pressure has been great. To say otherwise would be misleading people,” Yen said, without giving a figure for comparison with last year.
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He clarified that a figure of 4,132 air force missions this year, according to a parliamentary briefing document from the ministry, included training and regular patrol missions.
Yen said the armed forces would conduct their own drills off the southwest coast of Taiwan this month, although they would not be with live fire.
Taiwan’s armed forces are well trained and equipped, but are dwarfed by those of China, and the Taiwanese Defense Ministry previously acknowledged the strain that repeated Chinese exercises were putting on them.
Taiwan is in the process of modernizing its combat fleet.
The United States last year approved an $ 8 billion sale of F-16 fighter jets to Taiwan, a deal that would bring the island’s total number of jets to more than 200, Asia’s largest F-16 fleet.
