Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan: China’s strategy of “passing over Taiwan” with ballistic missiles in military exercises around Taiwan – BBC News 中文

According to the information released by the Japanese Ministry of Defense on the evening of August 4, it is speculated that a total of 4 PLA missiles flew over Taiwan. There have been many criticisms in Taiwan for why Taiwan officials did not inform the public about it.

Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense issued a press release saying that the main flight path of the Chinese ballistic missile after the launch is outside the atmosphere, and it is “no hazard” to the vast ground area it flies over, so no air defense alert was issued. The statement said that the calculation of the “drop point” is the key to the missile protection systems of various countries in the world.

However, many Taiwanese politicians and media criticized the missile passing over Taiwan, which is a serious matter, and criticized the Taiwanese official for not issuing an air defense alert, which is very unfair to the Taiwanese people.

Mei Fuxing, a military researcher and director of the “Taiwan Strait Security Research and Analysis Center” in New York, said when analyzing the dispute that the Chinese military chose to prevent the missile from passing through the airspace recognized by international law. Stupid loss but no way to appeal… I did not expect that the Taiwan Democratic Progressive Party government got its true biography, and returned to its own people with its own way. It was voluntarily confirmed that the CCP’s missiles had indeed flown over Taiwan, but the Ministry of National Defense made an understatement only after the fact that it was verified by the media.”

Mei Fuxing also believes that this move has reduced the CCP’s cognitive psychological warfare and failed to produce the expected level of shock and fear.

However, the American media “The New York Times” analyzed that the PLA’s military exercise has more effects, because the military exercise has delineated six exercise areas in the waters of Taiwan. If the PLA is ordered to surround Taiwan and launch an attack one day, then The exercise may be a valuable practice opportunity for the Chinese military.

The report also quoted Meng Xiangqing, a professor of strategy at the National Defense University of China, as saying in an interview with Chinese state media that the PLA’s selection of these six areas for military exercises is of particular significance because one area covers the narrowest part of the Taiwan Strait, while the other areas use to blockade one of Taiwan’s major ports, or attack three other major military bases.

Mei Fuxing told the BBC Chinese that if the missile test launch on August 4 is analyzed, it actually shows the PLA’s ability to launch strikes against Taiwan from multiple different regions or bases and missile brigades.

However, Mei Fuxing emphasized that the CCP’s ability to block Taiwan, mentioned in many comments, is still debatable. He believes that these tactical ballistic missiles are still mainly used to attack fixed targets on the ground, and the PLA exercise does not seem to integrate too many different types of land attack missiles, such as the highly accurate CJ-10 cruise missiles and Taiwan’s current almost impossible to intercept. medium-range ballistic missile (DF-21). He analyzed: “The reason is unknown, perhaps the PLA does not think it is necessary, there are other technical considerations or due to the hasty planning of the exercise.”

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen released a video on August 4 criticizing the CCP for deliberately escalating military threats, but she stressed that Taiwan would not escalate conflict.

Dr. Oriana Skylar Mastro, a researcher at Stanford University’s Spogli Institute for International Studies, told the BBC that whether it was Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan or President Biden’s remarks that the United States must protect Taiwan, these political manipulations Neither helps. This would only anger Beijing and give them the moral high ground, but ultimately would not answer the crucial question: whether the United States has the military capability it needs to protect Taiwan.

A well-known tourist attraction in Taiwan, Lambai Island, an outlying island outside Pingtung County in southwest Taiwan, is only 9 to 12 kilometers away from the sea area of ​​the PLA military exercise. Some people expressed concern to the Taiwanese media about safety and future livelihoods, but some Taiwan residents deliberately Take a boat to go sightseeing, and use binoculars to watch the live performance of the PLA military exercises, which caused heated discussions in the Taiwan media.

A Mr. Wu, who runs a homestay in Xiaoliuqiu, told BBC Chinese that because he taught diving, he was really worried about whether the missiles would fall into the waters where he worked before he went into the water. But he stressed that life and operations are also normal, and “it’s no use worrying.” And because it is the seventh month of the lunar calendar, many people have the scruples of going into the water in the “Ghost Moon”, and there would have been fewer tourists. He did not receive a call to check out because of the military exercise. “Life is business as usual,” he said.

Miss Huang, who came from Yilan and went on vacation to Xiaoliuqiu, also told reporters that she was not afraid, but her mother was a little worried about her safety: “This is not the first time I have heard of military threats. There are no plans to change the trip,” she said.

In addition, it is reported that Chinese drones have been flying over the airspace of Kinmen Island, which is only 5 kilometers away from Xiamen City, Fujian Province, since the eve of the PLA military exercise. However, according to reports, compared to the “panic” caused by many media’s focus on China’s military exercise around Taiwan, most Kinmen residents did not feel deeply about the military exercise or drones flying over their homes.