2025/02/26
The MND released a press statement to explain "the unannounced gunnery training conducted by the P.R.C."
MND Press Release
Published at 14:10 on February 26, 2025
The Ministry of National Defense (MND) announced today (Feb. 26) that since 08:42 a.m., there are in total 32 sorties been detected carrying out maritime operations, including various fighters, support aircraft, and drones such as the J-11 Yinglong and Shaanxi KJ-500. Among these, 22 crossed the Taiwan Strait mid-line and extended lines, entering the northern and southwestern airspace of our country. This activity is in coordination with the People's Republic of China (P.R.C) fleet of performing "joint combat readiness alert patrols." During this period, they even openly violated international customs by delineating a military exercise zone which is approximately 40 nautical miles off the coast of Kaohsiung and Pingtung, and claiming to conduct "gunnery training." The MND strongly reprimanded this action and immediately dispatched naval, air, and ground forces to monitor and maintain vigilance to appropriately respond to and manage the situation.
The MND emphasized that the Chinese military’s actions of suddenly announcing via radio broadcasts their intent to conduct "gunnery training" in specific area without prior warning, not only posed a serious danger to the safety of international air and maritime traffic but also constituted a blatant provocation to regional security and stability. At the time when the world is striving for peace, the actions of P.R.C. run at cross-purposes to its repeatedly claimed principles of "mutual respect, building prosperity together, and peaceful coexistence."
The MND further pointed out that China's recent actions of disrupting the status quo, such as live-fire exercises off the coasts of Vietnam and Australia and military deterrence actions against the Philippines, demonstrated that China is currently the sole and the largest threat to peace and stability of Taiwan Strait and the Indo-Pacific region. The Republic of China (R.O.C.) Armed Forces will continue to diligently strengthen its defense capabilities and closely monitor the situation around the Taiwan Strait, to ensure national defense and security.