Ep 127 | Eric Chang on China's Breach of Taiwan's Air Defense Identification Zone: Threat or Bluff?

Apr 26, 2021

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A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

My guest on this episode of Talking Taiwan is Eric Chang, a writer for Taiwan News. On April 18th we spoke about China’s April 12th incursion into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone, the largest one to date at the time. We also spoke about the longstanding military threat that China poses for Taiwan and the Asia Pacific region, what this means for Taiwan, how Taiwan has responded, the U.S.’s response and why it matters, and how the support and cooperation from neighboring countries is essential to keeping peace in the region.

Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:

The difference between a country’s airspace and ADIZ (air defense identification zone)
When Taiwan’s ADIZ was set up
When China’s ADIZ was set up
How China’s air intrusions increased during the last year of Trump’s presidency
What prompted China’s April 12th incursion into Taiwan’s ADIZ
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s recent comments about Taiwan
The Taiwan Relations Act
What the median line is
When Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense started to publicly report China’s incursions into Taiwan’s ADIZ
How many incursions there have been this year by China to Taiwan’s ADIZ
The significance of Alex Azar (24th U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary) and Keith Krach’s (Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment) visits to Taiwan
Taiwan’s response to China’s incursions
What damage China can do to Taiwan with their fighter planes
The strategy/motivation behind China’s incursions
The war of attrition
Gray zone tactics
China’s history of military aggression aimed at Taiwan
China’s reaction to Taiwan’s first direct presidential election in 1996
How willing China is to attack Taiwan
How concerned people in Taiwan are about the China’s military threat
China’s increasing military aggression in the Asia region
Taiwan’s defense abilities
The new multimission amphibious ships that Taiwan recently launched
Asymmetric warfare capabilities and how Taiwan can defend itself
U.S. arms sales to Taiwan
How the Biden administration has reacted to China’s April 12th incursion
How Taiwan can benefit from cooperation and intelligence sharing with neighboring countries in the Asia Pacific region
Good sources to learn about Taiwan’s military situation