Taiwanese media reported that radio communications with Chinese military ships are now commonplace. Recently, the US and the Chinese pilots exchanged ‘verbal blows’ as US military helicopters ‘breached’ China’s airspace for 2 consecutive days.
US military helicopters violated China’s “territorial airspace” on August 28 and 29, as per Taiwan News, which referenced radio transmissions. Mandarin and English were used by the Chinese warplane pilot to warn the US military aircraft.
The Facebook page Taiwan ADIZ for the military enthusiast found and recorded every broadcast. According to Taiwan ADIZ, on August 28 and 29, Chinese fighters intercepted American military aircraft, which eventually made their way out of Chinese airspace.
A spokesperson of Taiwan ADIZ claims that on August 28, a US Navy Sikorsky MH-60 Seahawk helicopter violated the 12-nautical-mile line dividing Taiwan from China’s territorial sea.
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According to reports, radio signals saying “I am the Chinese Air Force, you are approaching my airspace, leave immediately, or I will intercept,” were heard by US military aircraft as they flew over the Taiwan Strait toward China’s east coast at 8:14 a.m.
At 8:38 a.m, the American aircraft’s pilot could be heard saying: “I am a United States military aircraft conducting lawful military activities in international airspace and exercising these rights as guaranteed by international law. I am operating with due regard to the rights and duties of all states.”
For the following hour, both pilots emphasized the same point repeatedly. At 10:32 a.m., the PLA Air Force said in both Mandarin and English, “This is the Chinese PLA Air Force; you have entered China’s territorial airspace, a serious violation of China’s sovereignty; leave immediately, leave immediately!”
Around 10 a.m., the PLA was again visible overhead, letting a US military plane know on August 29 that it was getting close to Chinese territory and should take off right away. Despite being informed that it had entered “China’s territorial airspace” and needed to quickly depart, the US plane continued on its course.
Most likely, the MH-60 Seahawk helicopters belong to guided-missile cruisers of the Ticonderoga class, the USS Antietam (CG 54) and USS Chancellorsville (CG 62). The Taiwan Strait was crossed by these two warships on August 28. Each vessel is equipped with two Sikorsky SH-60B or MH-60R Seahawk LAMPS III helicopters.
Taiwan Navy Exchanges Warnings
Taiwanese media reported that radio communications with Chinese military ships are now commonplace.
According to CNA, Li Kuang-ping, the captain of the Cheng Kung-class ship Chang Chien of the Taiwan Navy, routinely exchanges radio communications with ships of the Chinese Navy when on missions to monitor ships at sea. Both sides issue cautionary statements to steer clear of one another.
“Even though we know each other’s position, we cannot agree with each other,” he said. The captain went on to claim that on rare occasions, even tiny Chinese fishing boats would request that a Chinese military ship attack first without communicating. He claimed that the Navy makes the decision to disregard messages of this kind.
On August 30, President Tsai Ing-wen traveled to Penghu to examine the Tien Chu Air Force unit, the Penghu Defense Command’s air defense company, the Air Force’s Seventh Radar Squadron, and the Navy’s 146th Fleet, as well as to encourage them in light of the growing Chinese military presence in the area.
The island nation must also contend with persistent Chinese drone invasions. Taiwan’s military was forced to fire live ammunition against UAVs for a second day on August 31 as a result of three Chinese drones invading three islands in Kinmen County.
The Kinmen Defense Command (KDC) of the Army reported that three “civilian” Chinese drones had breached the airspace over the Lieyu, Dadan, and Caoyu islands around 8:40 that night. Taiwanese military responded by shooting live rounds and signal flares in order to thwart the UAVs.
The drones soon departed in the direction of Xiamen, China, according to the KDC. The command declared that it would maintain vigilance and always keep an eye on the situation.
Similar to this, another drone violated the controlled airspace over Erdan Island at 5:59 p.m. on August 30. It disregarded warnings from Taiwanese forces and flew in the direction of Xiamen in less than a minute. For the first time ever, Kinmen forces engaged Chinese drones with live ammunition during the confrontation on Tuesday.
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