DEFENSE/PLA drill areas within Taiwan's territorial waters: Taiwan military

Taipei, Dec. 29 (CNA) Parts of all five of the drill zones designated by the People's Liberation Army (PLA) for live-fire drills Tuesday are within Taiwan's territorial waters, Taiwanese military officials said Monday, calling the move "irresponsible."

Despite the provocative nature of the move, Taiwan was vague on how it would respond if the PLA were to fire live ammunition within Taiwan's territorial waters -- those within 12 nautical miles of the country's shores -- on Tuesday.

Lt. Gen. Lien Chih-wei (連志威), deputy chief of general staff for operations and planning under the Ministry of National Defense (MND), did not directly address the issue at a press briefing, saying only that frontline soldiers would follow the military's rules of engagement (ROE) and respond appropriately.

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Taiwan's armed forces established an ad hoc emergency operations center following the PLA's announcement of drills early Monday to respond to developments, said military spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) at the briefing.

Sun condemned the PLA's plan to hold live-fire exercises within Taiwan's territorial waters as "irresponsible" and capable of further elevating regional tensions.

As to why the PLA decided on such a strategy, Lt. Gen. Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升), deputy chief of the general staff for intelligence at the MND, said the reason was "extremely obvious," hinting that Beijing did it to show that Taiwan is part of Chinese territory.

The decision to hold the drills surrounding Taiwan will affect not only Taiwan's security but that of many other countries, Hsieh warned, as the PLA's drill grounds also overlap with many international sea lanes and airways.

The three military officials made their comments during the emergency MND press briefing, held hours after the PLA announced early Monday the start of a new round of joint exercises around Taiwan, code-named "Justice Mission 2025."

Beginning at 7:30 a.m. Monday, the exercises were to serve as a "stern warning to 'Taiwan independence' separatist forces," PLA Eastern Theater Command spokesperson Senior Colonel Shi Yi (施毅) said in a statement.

As of 3 p.m. Monday, Hsieh said Taiwan's military had detected 14 PLA naval vessels, 14 coast guard vessels, four amphibious assault vessels, and 89 military aircraft operating around Taiwan.

Of the 89 aircraft, 67 crossed the Taiwan Strait median line and entered Taiwan's contiguous zone, an area that is adjacent to territorial sea and airspace and extends a maximum distance of 24 nautical miles from the coast.

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Taiwan did deploy 14 Coast Guard vessels to closely monitor the movement of the 14 Chinese patrol boats, according to Coast Guard Administration (CGA) Deputy Director-General Hsieh Ching-chin (謝慶欽) at the press event.

Some of the 14 PLA vessels briefly breached the 24 nautical-mile line but were promptly forced away, with the standoff continuing as of Monday afternoon, he said.

The MND confirmed that some naval vessels were also deployed, without saying how many, but it did not offer any details on whether the 14 PLA naval vessels and four amphibious assault vessels entered Taiwan's contiguous waters.

The PLA Eastern Theater Command also announced earlier Monday that it will conduct live-fire drills in waters and airspace around Taiwan from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday, warning vessels and aircraft not to enter the designated drill areas.

According to the coordinates provided by the command, the drills were to be staged in five designated zones around Taiwan, including at sea and in the airspace north of Keelung City, east of Taitung County, south of Pingtung County, southeast of Penghu County, and northwest of Taoyuan.