A Chinese unmanned warplane has flown around Taiwan, the island’s defense ministry said, to show Beijing’s capability to attack its fallback bases on the east coast, while a US maritime patrol plane flew through the Taiwan Strait.
China, which views democratically-governed Taiwan as its own territory, has stepped up military pressure on the island over the past three years to force Taipei to accept its claim to sovereignty.
This month, China staged war games around Taiwan after Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen met with Speaker of the US House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy in Los Angeles.
Taiwan’s defense ministry said in an early Friday update on Chinese military activity over the past 24 hours that 38 military aircraft had entered the island’s air defense identification zone.
One was a TB-001 drone, nicknamed the Two-Tailed Scorpion, that flew around Taiwan, first crossing the Bashi Channel that separates Taiwan from the Philippines, then to eastern Taiwan before returning to China’s coast, according to a map from the Ministry.
The Air Defense Identification Zone of Taiwan
A TB-001, nicknamed “Twin-Tailed Scorpion”, unmanned combat aircraft (UCAV) performs during Airshow China 2022 at Zhuhai Air Show Center on November 9, 2022 in Zhuhai, Guangdong province, China
A Sichuan Tengden’s TB-001, nicknamed “Twin-Tailed Scorpion” for the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF), flies at the 13th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition in Zhuhai in southern China’s Guangdong province on September 28, 2021
Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen meets with US Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, US, April 5, 2023
It was spotted between 6am (1000 GMT) Thursday and 6am Friday.
Chieh Chung, a military researcher at Taiwan’s National Policy Foundation think tank, said China would likely send the TB-001 during a war to spot targets on the island’s east coast, where Taiwan would protect reserve troops, since bases there wouldn’t face China.
“It will enable naval and air forces of the Communist Army in the Western Pacific, including air strike groups or carrier battle groups, to launch strikes” on the East Coast, he said.
He added that it was not the first time a Chinese drone has flown around Taiwan, but most likely the first time it has done so entirely within Taiwan’s air defense zone.
Chinese state media have referred to the TB-001 as the “two-tailed scorpion” and have shown photos of it carrying missiles, saying it is capable of long-range, high-altitude missions.
The Chinese Air Force has conducted so-called ‘island encirclement’ missions with the manned, nuclear-capable H-6 bomber.
Tensions over Taiwan have alarmed Washington and its allies, who have repeatedly expressed concern about China’s behavior and called for no forced change of the status quo.
A US Navy P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft flew through the Taiwan Strait on Friday, and a senior French lawmaker confirmed that a warship from his country had recently passed through the sensitive waterway.
The United States, and occasionally its allies, have routinely sent warships and aircraft through the Taiwan Strait in recent years.
According to the US Navy’s 7th Fleet, the Poseidon was flying in international airspace.
“By operating in the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations,” it said in a statement. “The plane’s transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the United States’ commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific.”
The Chinese military said it was monitoring the plane and accused the United States of provocative behavior in the strait.
China said last year it has sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction over the Taiwan Strait, saying it was “a false claim” to refer to the strait as international waters.
The United States and Taiwan both say China’s position is incorrect.
Meeting with Tsai at her Taipei office on Friday, a French lawmaker and former defense minister said sending a warship through the strait showed his country’s commitment to security.
“I want to tell you that the view of our parliament is that the security of Taiwan is a major concern to us and we encourage our authorities to remain alert to security in the Strait, as the recent passage of our warship has once again demonstrated.” , said French. Senate Vice President Alain Richard said.
He did not say when the sailing took place, and neither the French nor Taiwanese governments have officially confirmed the details. Taiwan’s defense ministry said it was aware of the transit this month.
French President Emmanuel Macron recently warned of a crisis over Taiwan, driven by “an American rhythm and a Chinese overreaction.”