Taiwan under psychological attack as Chinese warplanes cross median line, analysts say

Name: Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen visits military base following ‘provocations’ from mainland China
Uploaded: 2020-10-03T10:00:12.000Z
Duration: 56 s
Description: Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen visits military base following ‘provocations’ from mainland China

Dozens of military aircraft have entered island’s airspace in past month and defence officials say it’s comparable to the 1995-96 crisis

It may also indicate that Beijing no longer wants to recognise tacit agreement on the unofficial boundary

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Nearly 40 PLA warplanes, including an anti-submarine aircraft, have crossed the midline of the Taiwan Strait in the past month. Photo: Handout

Lawrence Chung

Published: 6:00pm, 3 Oct 2020Updated: 11:50pm, 3 Oct 2020

Taiwan is facing its worst cross-strait military crisis in over two decades, with the People’s Liberation Army sending dozens of warplanes into the island’s air defence identification zone in the past month as tensions escalate.

Nearly 40 of those incursions involved warplanes crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait, the unofficial airspace boundary between Taiwan and mainland China.

According to analysts, passing that sensitive midline is a serious threat to the self-governed island that leaves Taiwan’s air force with little time to respond.

“Once the PLA warplanes cross the centre line, it only takes 200 seconds to reach the nearest point on our coastline,” said Wang Kung-yi, chairman of the Taiwan International Strategic Study Society think tank, referring to northern Hsinchu, which is just 36 nautical miles from the median line.

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Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen visits military base following ‘provocations’ from mainland China

“And if our forces aren’t decisive enough to intercept the intruders and stop them from reaching our territorial waters 12 nautical miles from the coast, it would only take another 80 seconds for the PLA warplanes to fly to Taipei,” Wang said.

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