On Thursday, as Russia launched an unprovoked attack on Ukraine, Taiwan's air force fiercely defended its air defense zone against Chinese aircraft. The developments show how China is making its moves on Taiwan as Russia invades Ukraine, a crisis that is also being monitored by Taipei.
Nikkei Asia reported that China is claiming Taiwan as its own territory, an argument fiercely opposed by the small country. Over the last two years, missions like that seen this week have become frequent, though Chinese aircraft do not get too close to Taiwan.
On January 23, up to 39 Chinese aircraft were recorded flying near Taiwan. Since then, the number of incidents and aircraft have gone down. But this week's move on Taiwan as Russia invades Ukraine involved eight Chinese J-16 fighters and one Y-8 reconnaissance aircraft, which traveled near the northeast of the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Islands near the tip of the South China Sea.
Taiwan's defense ministry said they sent fighters to warn the Chinese aircraft and send air defense missiles, which were deployed to "monitor the activities."
China's President Xi Jinping appears to be on the move, The Gateway Pundit reported. But Taiwan has been watching closely as Russia invades Ukraine, concerned that China may take advantage to make moves on the island nation. Taiwan's government has also increased its alert level.
Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Tan Kefei last Thursday issued a stern warning against the U.S. He said on Thursday in Beijing that Taiwan remains a "core issue" of China and that they would not tolerate any interference from foreign nations. Tan warned, "We urge the U.S. side to recognize the high sensitivity of the Taiwan issue, stop interfering in China's internal affairs and stop playing with fire on the Taiwan issue."
Meanwhile, China also refused to recognize the recent developments as Russia invades Ukraine, another Gateway Pundit report said. The communist state refused to condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine, a stark contrast to the other nations who were quick to do so.
In fact, Bloomberg reported that China instead deflected blame over the developments as Russia invades Ukraine. It said that the U.S. was to blame for "hyping" the idea of an Eastern European war in recent days. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying refused to acknowledge Russia's conquering of Ukraine, instead saying that China "didn't wish to see what happened in Ukraine."
Hua this week dismissed the statements of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who raised concerns over worldwide consequences of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, including repercussions for Taiwan, The Hill reported. Hua argued however, that "Taiwan is not Ukraine."
"Taiwan has always been an inalienable part of China. This is an indisputable legal and historical fact," Hua said on Wednesday. But Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen argued that while Taiwan and Ukraine are fundamentally different, both are facing "foreign forces intending to manipulate the situation," which is why she called for the strengthening of "the prevention of cognitive warfare" in the hands of foreign forces.
