AMN/ WEB DESK
Taiwanese premier Su Tseng-change has termed the incursion by Chinese warplanes into Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) as unnecessary and thoughtless. Twenty Chinese warplanes entered ADIZ on Friday, a day after Taipei and Washington signed an accord to strengthen maritime cooperation. Air defence identification zones are early warning systems that help countries detect incursions into their airspace.
Any aircraft entering such an area is supposed to report its route and purpose to the “host” nation, though the zones are classified as international airspace and pilots are not legally bound to make such a notification. According to Focus Taiwan, Friday’s show of force was the biggest in terms of the number of planes deployed since Taiwan began to make public PLA aircraft’s movements near Taiwan in mid-September.
Taiwan’s premier and foreign minister discussed the issue on Saturday. Taiwan foreign minister Joseph Wu condemned the act in a tweet but said the country will not submit under pressure.