Chinese military activities near Taiwan have continued since then, though at a much reduced level, and Chinese military aircraft are routinely crossing the median line, which had for years acted as unofficial barrier between the two sides.

“The median line was supposed to be a tacit agreement for everyone,” Chiu told a parliament committee meeting.

“That tacit agreement has been destroyed.”

China never officially recognised the line that a US general devised in 1954 at the height of Cold War hostility between Communist China and US-backed Taiwan although the People’s Liberation Army had largely respected it.

The Taiwan Strait is about 180km wide and at its narrowest, the median line is about 40km from Taiwan’s waters.

Some Taiwan officials and security analysts have said it would be difficult for the island to defend the median line without raising the risk of dangerous escalation.

Chiu said China’s crossings of the median line indicated a new way of doing things, which Taiwan would resist.

“They want to build a new normal but we do not change … We will stand firm when they come. We do not give in.”

For years, China tacitly acknowledged the unmarked median line but in 2020 a foreign ministry spokesman stated it “did not exist”. China says its armed forces have a right to operate around Taiwan as it is Chinese territory.

Taiwan rejects China’s sovereignty claims, saying as China has never ruled Taiwan, only the island’s 23 million people have the right to decide their future.

Speaking to reporters earlier on Wednesday, Chiu said extending compulsory military service beyond four months was a matter of “urgency”, but the ministry was still in talks with other government agencies to work out details.

SEOUL: A US aircraft carrier will visit South Korea this week for joint drills for the first time in about four years, officials of both countries said on Monday (Sep 19), as the allies seek to deploy US nuclear-capable “strategic assets” to deter North Korea.

USS Ronald Reagan will arrive at a naval base in the southern port city of Busan on Friday, South Korea’s Navy said in a statement.

“By conducting combined drills, the Navies of the two countries plan to strengthen their military readiness and demonstrate the firm resolve of the South Korea-US alliance for peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula,” the statement said.

North Korea has denounced previous US military deployments and joint drills as rehearsals for war and proof of hostile policies by Washington and Seoul.

The visit will be the first to South Korea by an American aircraft carrier since 2018. That year, the allies scaled back many of their joint military activities amid diplomatic efforts to engage with North Korea.

TAIPEI: The combat skills of Taiwan’s military are now “more mature” and it is better able to fight thanks to having to repeatedly scramble to see off Chinese forces during their recent drills, President Tsai Ing-wen said on Tuesday (Sep 6).

China staged war games in the immediate aftermath of United States House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taipei last month, angered by what it saw as a strong show of US support for the island Beijing claims as its own territory. Chinese military activities close to Taiwan have continued since then.

Speaking to air force personnel at the Hualien air base on Taiwan’s east coast, Tsai said the situation around the Taiwan Strait remained tense and the threat had not gone away.

“In the face of challenges, our national military has calmly responded to the enemy’s intents at intrusion and have tenaciously defended the country’s security,” she said, according to a transcript of the remarks released by the presidential office.

“I believe that after this period of combat readiness missions, our national military’s combat skills are more mature and its combat power is more powerful.”

TAIPEI: Taiwan’s military shot down an unidentified civilian drone that entered its airspace near an islet just off the Chinese coast on Thursday (Sep 1), after the government vowed to take tough new measures to deal with an increase in such intrusions.

Beijing, which claims Taiwan as its own against the strong objections of the Taipei government, has held military exercises around the island since early last month in reaction to a visit to Taipei by United States House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Taiwan’s government has vowed not to provoke or escalate tensions, but has been particularly angered recently by repeated cases of Chinese drones buzzing islands controlled by Taiwan close to China’s coast.

The defence command for Kinmen, a group of Taiwan-controlled islands opposite China’s Xiamen and Quanzhou cities, said in a statement released by Taiwan’s defence ministry that the drone entered restricted air space over Lion Islet just after midday.

Troops on the islet tried warning it away but to no effect, so shot it down, with the remains landing in the sea, it added.

Taiwan fired warning shots at a drone for the first time on Tuesday shortly after President Tsai Ing-wen ordered the military to take “strong countermeasures” against what she termed Chinese provocations.

Speaking to the armed forces earlier on Thursday, Tsai said China was continuing to use drone intrusions and other “grey zone” tactics to try to intimidate Taiwan, her office cited her as saying in a statement.

Tsai again emphasised that Taiwan would not provoke disputes but that did not mean that it would not take countermeasures, the statement added.

“She has also ordered the Ministry of National Defense to take necessary and strong countermeasures in a timely manner to defend national security,” it said.

“Let the military guard the country without fear and with solid confidence.”

The budget request is for funding to mass produce ground-launched cruise missiles – an extended range version of the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries-designed Type 12 missile already in use – to strike ships, and new high-velocity glide ballistic missiles capable of hitting ground targets.

The ministry is also seeking money to develop other projectiles, including hypersonic warheads.

The ministry did not give a range for the proposed weapons, or say how many it planned to field, but they would likely be able to reach targets in China if deployed along Japan’s nearby southwest Okinawa island chain.

Japan has already ordered air-launched missiles, including the Joint Strike Missile (JSM) made by Norway’s Kongsberg and Lockheed Martin Corp’s Joint Air-to-Surface Stand-Off Missile (JASSM) with a range of up to 1,000 km.

Unlike with ship or ground-based launchers, however, the number it can fire is limited by how many planes it can put in the air to fire them.

KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Army has apologised after a military vehicle broke down along a road in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday (Aug 27), a day after a tank malfunctioned and blocked traffic.

Both vehicles were involved in National Day Parade rehearsals.

The incident on Saturday happened at about 11.30am. 

An armoured car transport vehicle which was heading towards Sungai Besi Camp Perdana broke down outside the National Museum after its engine failed, the Malaysian Army said in a statement.

Mechanics were deployed to the location and the vehicle was repaired at 12.30pm before continuing its journey.

“The Malaysian Army apologises over the two incidents,” said the statement, adding that it will ensure that such incidents do not happen again.

If they do, the Army said a recovery team will be deployed quickly to tow an affected vehicle away to avoid traffic jams.

A total of 129 army vehicles are involved in the 2022 National Day Parade, said the Malaysian Army.

Without question, the Bill’s symbolic measures make for good domestic politics in the US. After all, China is one of the rare topics of bipartisan agreement in Washington these days.

Yet, the Bill’s playing with symbols risks crossing Beijing’s red lines. Given that Xi has so publicly staked an important part of his legacy on reunifying Taiwan and bringing it under the Chinese Communist Party’s control, Washington should not underestimate the lengths he will go to for taking back the island state.    

Due to the considerable discrepancy between the People’s Liberation Army’s annual budget of 1.45 trillion yuan (US$212 billion) and that of Taiwan (US$19.4 billion), additional measures that bolster Taiwan’s ability to protect itself and build an asymmetric porcupine defence strategy need to be further emphasised in the proposed law. 

As the Bill goes through committee and the amendment process, Members of Congress should weed out those aspects focused on political symbolism and instead strengthen those provisions that enhance the security of the Taiwanese people, deter a Chinese invasion, support the island’s thriving democracy and economy, as well as promote and contribute to the stability of the overall US-China relationship. 

Part of this ought to include a robust US-Taiwan trade deal. Other friendly countries should also enhance their commercial and trade ties to Taiwan to fight against Beijing’s ongoing attempts to isolate Taipei. 

These moves ought to be accompanied by renewed diplomatic efforts by the Biden administration to convey that Washington does not seek to dismantle its One China policy, nor does it support formal independence for Taiwan. An opportune time for this will be during Biden’s and Xi’s scheduled in-person meeting this November in Southeast Asia, Xi’s first international trip in nearly three years. 

Perhaps the most important thing that Biden must communicate is that, despite the many tensions in the complicated US-China relationship, war is not inevitable. Both sides need to recommit to risk management in the Pacific and work together on navigating peacefully the region’s troubled waters.  

Ted Gover, PhD, is Associate Clinical Professor at Claremont Graduate University.

Taiwan recorded incursions by around 970 Chinese warplanes into its air defence zone in 2021, more than double the roughly 380 in 2020.

The figure this year has already exceeded 980, with more than 360 incursions recorded in August alone.

Taiwan’s defence ministry said in a statement on Thursday that the budget gave full consideration to the “enemy threat”.

“In the face of the Chinese communists’ continuous expansion of targeted military activities in recent years and the normalised use of warships and military aircraft to raid and disturb Taiwan’s surrounding seas and airspace, the military adheres to the principle of preparing for war without seeking war and defending national security with strength,” it added.

Assoc Prof Chong said that Taiwan’s ramped-up defence spending would send a signal to the US, neighbouring Japan and other countries.

“That Taiwan is taking its own defence seriously and is ready to hold off any armed aggression from the PRC as best it can. This move intends to reinforce the view that Taiwan is a reliable partner,” he said.

“Taipei is also signalling to Beijing that any use of force could be potentially costly, even if it is able to win eventually.”

Dr Ho said that the ongoing tensions in the Taiwan Strait remain a key flashpoint in Asia and would be watched by most governments in the region. 

Both Taiwan and China’s recent moves to expand their militaries “demonstrates that certainly there is cause for concern”, he told CNA938 in an interview.

In March, China said it would spend 7 per cent more on defence this year, setting the spending figure at US$211.62 billion.

“Ultimately military capabilities are a function of threat assessment, so it’s really about how these intentions are being interpreted by policymakers that will determine how these capabilities will be put to use or not put to use,” said Dr Ho.