The Taiwan Air Defense Identification Zone is an air defense identification zone of the Republic of China (ROC), which covers Taiwan Province, its surrounds, and a large portion of the Chinese mainland. A theoretical "median line" was defined in 1955 one year after the zone was established. The ADIZ includes international airspace that countries can arbitrarily monitor. In recent years, it has seen an increased number of sorties flown by People's Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft. [1] [2] [3]
The ROC's ADIZ covers most of the Taiwan Strait, Taiwan Province, parts of Fujian (that are administered by the ROC and by the People's Republic of China (PRC) seperately), Zhejiang, and Jiangxi, and part of the East China Sea. It was designed and created by the United States Armed Forces (USAF) in 1954 [4] : 42 and the basis of Taipei Flight Information Region. [5] [6] : 15 The zone is monitored by PAVE PAWS radar located near Hsinchu and operated with help from US advisors. [7]
A theoretical line was defined in 1955 down the middle of the strait, supposedly named after USAF General Benjamin O. Davis Jr. [8] [9] [4] : 42 Aircraft from Taiwan flew combat missions on the other side until they lost control of mainland airspace to the PLAAF after the Second Taiwan Strait Crisis. ROCAF U-2 planes continued to fly over the mainland until 1968. [4] : 45–58 The line was avoided by the PRC until 1999 when groups of PLAAF aircraft crossed over in response to "state-to-state" comments made by Lee Teng-hui. Beijing has never recognized the line. [1] [3] The PRC has flown an increased number of sorties across the median line, [10] [11] although it tries not to do so when relations with Taiwan are good. [12]
Around 9% of Taiwan's national defence budget in 2020 reportedly goes into the response to Chinese sorties, which usually involve flights inside the southwest part of the ADIZ, crossing of the median, or circumnavigation. [13] Beginning in September 2020, the Ministry of National Defense of Taiwan (MND) began reporting PLA sorties in the ADIZ that flew beyond mainland territorial airspace. [1]
During 2021, 972 such sorties were flown by the PLA. This increased to 1,727 in 2022, [14] with the most on any single day being on 5 August after the 2022 visit by Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan, when 49 sorties were flown. [1]
On 26 December 2022, a record 71 PLA aircraft entered the ADIZ, including 43 that crossed the median line. [15]
After the United States approved a weapons sale to Taiwan in 2023, the MND reported thirteen PLA aircraft that crossed the median line on 25 and 26 May, including two Xian H-6 bombers. [16] [17]
The Republic of China Armed Forces are the armed forces of the Republic of China (ROC) that once ruled Mainland China and now currently restricted to its territorial jurisdictions of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu Islands. They consist of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Military Police Force. The military is under the civilian control of the Ministry of National Defense, a cabinet-level agency overseen by the Legislative Yuan.
The controversy surrounding the political status of Taiwan or the Taiwan issue is an ongoing dispute on the political status of Taiwan, currently controlled by the Republic of China (ROC). This dispute arose in the mid-twentieth century.
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The Three Links or Three Linkages was a 1979 proposal from the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China (PRC) to open up postal, transportation, and trade links between mainland China and Taiwan, with the goal of unifying Mainland China and Taiwan.
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An air defense identification zone (ADIZ) is a region of airspace in which a country tries to identify, locate, and control aircraft in the interest of national security. It is declared unilaterally and may extend beyond a country's territory to give the country more time to respond to possibly hostile aircraft. The concept of an ADIZ is not defined in any international treaty and is not recognized by any international body.
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