Taiwan to deal with Chinese aircraft encroachments 'fearlessly': MND

ROC Central News Agency

2016/12/13 15:59:35

Taipei, Dec. 13 (CNA) In the event that a Chinese military aircraft enters Taiwan's air space, the ROC military will handle the situation "fearlessly without evasion or weakness," a Ministry of National Defense (MND) official said on Tuesday.

The approach adopted by the military would vary depending on whether the aircraft was hostile or not, Chung Shu-ming (鍾樹明), director of the ministry's Joint Operations Division, said at a regular press briefing.

He was responding to a question on how the military would handle an encroachment by China, an issue that recently raised concern after Chinese military aircraft flew close to Taiwan's air defense identification zone twice in two weeks.

Chung said the ROC military monitors China's military maneuvers closely and was fully aware of the two operations.

Because in both instances Chinese aircraft did not enter Taiwan's air space, the military opted to deal with the situation in a way that would not provoke or escalate conflict, he said.

Also during the briefing, a question was raised on how the military would prevent China from accessing data on the parameters of its weapons if a Chinese military aircraft was allowed to make an emergency landing in Taiwan.

According to Wang Shao-hua (王紹華), director of the ministry's Defense Research Department, the military has measures in place designed to target aircraft with reconnaissance capabilities.

On Monday, Defense Minister Feng Shih-kuan (馮世寬) said that in the event a Chinese military aircraft having to land in Taiwan because of mechanical failure, it would be allowed to do so based on humanitarian considerations.

(By Lu Hsin-hui and Y.F. Low)
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