Monday, June 27, 2022
Khmer Daily Cambodia News
34 °c
Phnom Penh
  • LATEST
  • CAMBODIA
  • ASIA
    • JAPAN
    • SOUTH KOREA
    • TAIWAN
  • WORLD
    • CHINA
    • RUSSIA
  • BUSINESS CAMBODIA
  • TECHNOLOGY
No Result
View All Result
  • LATEST
  • CAMBODIA
  • ASIA
    • JAPAN
    • SOUTH KOREA
    • TAIWAN
  • WORLD
    • CHINA
    • RUSSIA
  • BUSINESS CAMBODIA
  • TECHNOLOGY
No Result
View All Result
The Khmer Daily
No Result
View All Result
Home ASIA Taiwan

Taiwan president Tsai praises ‘heroic’ pilots who intercepted Chinese jets

September 23, 2020
in ASIA, Taiwan
0
Taiwan president Tsai praises ‘heroic’ pilots who intercepted Chinese jets
0
SHARES
10
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

PENGHU, Taiwan – Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen praised on Tuesday (Sept 22) the “heroic performance” of air force pilots who have been intercepting Chinese jets that have approached the island, as Beijing steps up military pressure on democratic Taiwan.

Tension between China and the island Beijing claims as sovereign Chinese territory have spiked to their highest in years, with Taiwanese fighters jets scrambling to intercept the Chinese aircraft last week.

Visiting a major air force base on Penghu in the sensitive Taiwan Strait that divides the two sides, Tsai told pilots and engineers she was aware of their “heroic performance” when intercepting and driving away Chinese aircraft.

“I have a lot of confidence in you. As soldiers of the Republic of China, how could we let enemies strut around in our own airspace?” she said, using Taiwan’s formal name.

“I’m aware that facing the provocative behaviour of the communist planes that have encircled the island and damaged regional peace in recent days, your duty at the front line of the airspace in Penghu must be even heavier.”

The base, now home to F-CK-1 Ching-kuo Indigenous Defence Fighters (IDF) which first entered service in 1997, is at the front line of Taiwan’s response to Chinese military intrusions.

Wang Chia-chu, one of the senior officers of the Heavenly Colt IDF squadron, told Reuters there is just five minutes’time to scramble fighters once Chinese aircraft are spotted.

“We will defend our airspace in real time as long as there’s a threat,” Wang said.

Another senior officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters the Penghu-based IDFs are now scrambling “almost every day” as tension run high.

The air force also put on display its new Wan Chien air-to-ground cruise missiles that entered service in 2018 and can be fired from IDFs at targets about 200km away, putting Chinese facilities or approaching ships in their sights.

Unusually, Chinese aircraft last week breached the mid line of the Taiwan Strait, an unofficial barrier for combat aircraft of both sides, although they have not flown over mainland Taiwan.

On Monday, China’s foreign ministry said the line did not exist, provoking condemnation from Taiwan Foreign Minister Joseph Wu.

In Taipei on Tuesday, Wu called the line an important “symbol” for avoiding military clashes, and urged other countries to condemn China.

“We demand the international community strongly condemns China’s words and actions and demand the Chinese government stops everything that it has been doing,” he added.

China has been angered by stepped-up US support for democratic Taiwan, including a visit to Taipei last week by US Undersecretary for Economic Affairs Keith Krach.

Taiwanese fighters have scrambled many times this year to intercept Chinese aircraft.

This article was first published in Asia One . All contents and images are copyright to their respective owners and sources.

Tags: #fighter jets#TaiwanChinaUSA
Previous Post

Cambodia Steel-Processing plant in Kampong Speu province set to commence operations

Next Post

US-China tensions take centre stage at UN as Trump accuses Beijing of unleashing ‘plague’

Related Posts

Duterte leaves brutal legacy in term marked by drug war, US-China policy U-turns

Duterte leaves brutal legacy in term marked by drug war, US-China policy U-turns

by Raissa Robles
June 27, 2022
0
11

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's six-year tenure has been marked by his US-China policy flip-flops and ambitious infrastructure plans, but it...

Cambodia’s Pailin Province aims to attract more tourists with Otavao Waterfall attraction

Cambodia’s Pailin Province aims to attract more tourists with Otavao Waterfall attraction

by Khmer Times
June 27, 2022
0
15

Pailin Province continues efforts to build and strengthen its tourism sector through clean-up and development projects in the province. The...

Villagers cheer Indonesian for capturing big crocodile with just a rope

Villagers cheer Indonesian for capturing big crocodile with just a rope

by AsiaOne
June 27, 2022
0
19

JAKARTA - Fellow villagers have praised an Indonesian man for capturing a crocodile longer than four metres (13 ft) on the island...

© 2020 By Khmer Daily News

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Latest
  • Cambodia
  • ASIA
  • World
  • Business
  • Tech

© 2019 The Khmer Daily.

error: Content is protected !!