DefenceTalkDefenceTalkChina on Thursday threatened to make a “legitimate and necessary” retaliation over the US sale of $1 billion worth of missiles to Taiwan as Beijing becomes increasingly strident over its claims to the self-ruled island. The US State Department said on Wednesday it had approved the sale of 135 air-to-ground missiles to Taiwan in a […]https://www.defencetalk.com/china-threatens-retaliation-over-us-taiwan-arms-sale-76511/

DefenceTalkDefenceTalkTaiwan will not “yield an inch” in defending itself, President Tsai Ing-wen warned Tuesday, as new figures revealed the island is scrambling fighter jets at more than double the rate of last year in response to Chinese incursions. Authoritarian China views democratic Taiwan as its own territory and has vowed to one day seize it, […]https://www.defencetalk.com/tsai-defiant-as-taiwans-anti-china-jet-flights-double-76434/

DefenceTalkDefenceTalkTaiwan on Tuesday demanded that China “back off” and accused it of threatening peace, after a Beijing official rejected a largely respected marine boundary following recent incursions. Foreign minister Joseph Wu urged Beijing to “return to the civilised international standards” after a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said there was no so-called median line in the […]https://www.defencetalk.com/china-must-back-off-says-taiwan-76366/

DefenceTalkDefenceTalkTaiwan said it scrambled fighters and deployed anti-missile systems Monday after Chinese military jets entered its air defence zone for the fourth time in five days. Two Chinese Y-8 anti-submarine planes intruded into Taiwan’s southwest air defence identification zone (ADIZ), the defence ministry said. Last week, Chinese fighters and bombers breached the same zone three […]https://www.defencetalk.com/taiwan-scrambles-fighters-again-as-china-says-independence-doomed-to-fail-76363/

DefenceTalkDefenceTalkUS military aircraft reportedly conducted close-up reconnaissance operations on China’s southern coast for three consecutive days, which is a dangerous sign, as the moves could let the US grasp the technical parameters, locations and movements of the Chinese military’s weapons and equipment over the South China Sea and Taiwan island, Chinese military experts warned on […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-militarys-frequent-close-up-air-recons-on-chinas-coastal-area-dangerous-75882/

DefenceTalkThe United States approved the sale of 18 heavyweight torpedoes to Taiwan for $180 million, the State Department said Wednesday, in a move that could further strain Washington’s already tense relationship with Beijing. The US framed the sale as a mutually beneficial transaction. “This proposed sale serves U.S. national, economic, and security interests by supporting […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-approves-sale-of-18-torpedoes-to-taiwan-75612/

DefenceTalkBeijing will “never tolerate” Taiwan’s separation from China, a spokesman at the mainland’s top Taiwan body said Wednesday, after President Tsai Ing-wen was inaugurated for a second term. China considers the democratic, self-governing island as part of its territory, and has repeatedly advocated for its eventual reunification with the mainland — using military force if […]https://www.defencetalk.com/beijing-will-never-tolerate-taiwans-separation-from-china-75601/

DefenceTalkA US warship has sailed through the Taiwan Strait in a move certain to anger Beijing as the two countries trade barbs over the coronavirus. The US Pacific Fleet sent a tweet on Thursday confirming the USS McCampbell, a guided missile destroyer, had transited the strait a day earlier. Taiwan’s defence ministry said the vessel […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-warship-sails-through-taiwan-strait-during-virus-spat-74979/

DefenceTalkAnger is rising in Taiwan over China continuing to buzz the island with fighter jets and warships even as they both fight the global coronavirus pandemic. The self-ruled democratic island has had to scramble its own fighter jets in response to recent Chinese manoeuvres, designed to show that Beijing’s military might remains unbowed by the […]https://www.defencetalk.com/taiwan-anger-over-china-military-drills-during-virus-outbreak-74952/

Taiwan said it scrambled fighter jets Monday after Chinese military aircraft briefly crossed into its airspace, the first major incursion since the island’s Beijing-wary president was re-elected in January. Taiwan’s defence ministry said Chinese H-6 bomber and accompanying aircraft briefly crossed over a “median line” in the Taiwan Strait It was only the second time […]