Reuters-Taiwan raises concerns about situation getting out of hand with China drills
September 23, 2023 3 min 441 words
这则报道凸显了台湾对于中国军事活动频繁增加的担忧，认为情况可能会失控，导致意外冲突。这种担忧并非无稽之谈，因为过去两周中国在台湾周边进行了大量的飞机、无人机、轰炸机等飞行器以及战舰和中国航母山东号的军事演练。中国一直将台湾视为自己的领土，因此近年来频繁在该地区进行演习，以巩固其主权主张并对台北施加压力。 台湾国防部长赵国成在议会边上回答记者提问时表示，鉴于中国活动的频繁性，是否存在意外事件引发更大冲突的风险是他们非常担心的问题。中国南部和东部战区的军舰一直在台湾东海岸附近行动，增加了飞机、船只和武器活动的风险，双方都必须引起警觉。 中国对台湾周边演习尚未发表评论，中国国防部也没有回应请求置评。报道中提到，台湾国防部长称山东号在海上进行演习时扮演了“对立势力”的角色，而中国东部战区部队则扮演“进攻势力”，模拟战斗场景。台湾一直计划利用其多山的东海岸，特别是那里的两个主要空军基地，作为一个重组和保护自己力量的地方，因为与台湾西海岸不同，东海岸不直接面对中国。 然而，中国近年来一直在台湾东海岸展示其实力，并显示其能够远离中国自己的海岸线行动。报道中提到，中国通常在7月至9月进行大规模演习。然而，台湾国防部表示，最近中国大部分减少了演习活动，过去24小时内只发现两架中国飞机在其防空区内飞行。 台湾一直表示将保持冷静，不升级局势，但不会容忍来自中国的“重复挑衅”。截至目前，中国军队尚未进入台湾领海或领空。总之，这篇报道突显了在台湾周边的紧张氛围，需要各方保持冷静，寻找解决争端的途径，以避免不必要的冲突。
The increased frequency of China's military activities around Taiwan recently has raised the risk of events "getting out of hand" and sparking an accidental clash, the island's defence minister said on Saturday.
Taiwan has said that the past two weeks has seen dozens of fighters, drones, bombers and other aircraft, as well as warships and the Chinese carrier the Shandong, operating nearby.
China, which views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, has in recent years carried out many such drills around the island, seeking to assert its sovereignty claims and pressure Taipei.
Asked by reporters on the sidelines of parliament whether there was a risk of an accidental incident sparking a broader conflict given the frequency of the Chinese activities, Taiwan Defence Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng said: "This is something we are very worried about".
Warships from China's southern and eastern theatre commands have been operating together off Taiwan's east coast, he added.
"The risks of activities involving aircraft, ships, and weapons will increase, and both sides must pay attention," Chiu said.
China has not commented about the drills around Taiwan, and its defence ministry has not responded to requests for comment.
Chiu said that when the Shandong was out at sea, which Taiwan first reported on Sept. 11, it was operating as the "opposing force" in the drills. Ministry spokesman Sun Li-fang added that China's Eastern Theatre Command forces were the "attacking force", simulating a battle scenario.
Taiwan's traditional military planning for a potential conflict has been to use its mountainous east coast, especially the two major air bases there, as a place to regroup and preserve its forces given it does not directly face China unlike the island's west coast.
But China has increasingly been flexing its muscles off Taiwan's east coast, and generally displaying its ability to operate much further away from China's own coastline.
China normally performs large-scale exercises from July to September, Taiwan's defence ministry has said.
On Saturday the ministry said China had largely dialled back its drills, reporting that over the previous 24 hour period it had only spotted two Chinese aircraft operating in its air defence zone.
Taiwan has frequently said that it would remain calm and not escalate the situation, but that it won't allow "repeated provocations" from China, whose forces have so far not entered Taiwan's territorial seas or airspace.