Ep 127 | Eric Chang on China's Breach of Taiwan's Air Defense Identification Zone: Threat or Bluff?

from Talking Taiwan · host Felicia Lin

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: My guest on this episode of Talking Taiwan is Eric Chang, a writer for Taiwan News. On April 18th we spoke about China's April 12th incursion into Taiwan's air defense identification zone, the largest one to date at the time. We also spoke about the longstanding military threat that China poses for Taiwan and the Asia Pacific region, what this means for Taiwan, how Taiwan has responded, the U.S.'s response and why it matters, and how the support and cooperation from neighboring countries is essential to keeping peace in the region. Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: The difference between a country's airspace and ADIZ (air defense identification zone) When Taiwan's ADIZ was set up When China's ADIZ was set up How China's air intrusions increased during the last year of Trump's presidency What prompted China's April 12th incursion into Taiwan's ADIZ U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken's recent comments about Taiwan The Taiwan Relations Act What the median line is When Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense started to publicly report China's incursions into Taiwan's ADIZ How many incursions there have been this year by China to Taiwan's ADIZ The significance of Alex Azar (24th U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary) and Keith Krach's (Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment) visits to Taiwan Taiwan's response to China's incursions What damage China can do to Taiwan with their fighter planes The strategy/motivation behind China's incursions The war of attrition Gray zone tactics China's history of military aggression aimed at Taiwan China's reaction to Taiwan's first direct presidential election in 1996 How willing China is to attack Taiwan How concerned people in Taiwan are about the China's military threat China's increasing military aggression in the Asia region Taiwan's defense abilities The new multimission amphibious ships that Taiwan recently launched Asymmetric warfare capabilities and how Taiwan can defend itself U.S. arms sales to Taiwan How the Biden administration has reacted to China's April 12th incursion How Taiwan can benefit from cooperation and intelligence sharing with neighboring countries in the Asia Pacific region Good sources to learn about Taiwan's military situation Related Links: Eric Chang on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ahbying Taiwan reports largest incursion yet by Chinese air force: https://www.reuters.com/world/china/taiwan-reports-largest-incursion-yet-by-chinese-air-force-2021-04-12/ 25 Chinese military aircraft intrude into Taiwan's ADIZ: https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4175573?fbclid=IwAR3m993hnw9io6q-IOayFBd2ljslUV4HgENika9nj2hshgFrPlAerfXlw_w The Taiwan Relations Act: https://www.ait.org.tw/our-relationship/policy-history/key-u-s-foreign-policy-documents-region/taiwan-relations-act/ Biden sends unofficial delegation to Taiwan in 'personal signal': https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-taiwan-delegation-idUSKBN2C02MS U.S. President Biden and Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga's April 16th meeting in Washington D.C.: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/17/biden-and-japans-suga-project-unity-against-chinas-assertiveness.html Taiwan's first direct presidential election in 1996 and China's missile tests aimed at Taiwan: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1996_Taiwanese_presidential_election Ian Easton – Project 2049 Institute: https://project2049.net/author/ianeaston/ U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken calls Taiwan 'country': https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4148761 Taiwan launches new amphibious vessel with anti-ship missiles: https://bit.ly/3no5Xa9 Taiwan's National Ministry of Defense on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mondefense Taiwan's National Ministry of Defense's real-time updates of military activity around its borders: https://bit.ly/3nnkK4U Focus Taiwan: https://focustaiwan.tw/