As per reports, 8 People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Aircrafts, 13 PLA Navy vessels and two Chinese official Ships were detected by Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defence on Saturday. Among the 8 Aircrafts, 6 PLA Aircrafts crossed the median line and entered Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ)- stated Ministry of Defence Taiwan.
Taiwan’s Ministry of Defence posted on X, “8 PLA aircraft, 13 PLAN vessels and 2 official ships operating around Taiwan were detected up until 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today. 6 out of 8 sorties crossed the median line and entered Taiwan’s northern, southwestern and eastern ADIZ. We have monitored the situation and responded.”
A Chinese intrusion was also reported on Friday, Taiwan’s MND said, “20 PLA aircraft, 7 PLAN vessels and 1 official ship operating around Taiwan were detected up until 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today. 18 out of 20 sorties crossed the median line and entered Taiwan’s northern, southwestern and eastern ADIZ. We have monitored the situation and responded.”
It is worth noting that last month, the Chinese military had carried out a more aggressive drills reported to be part of “Strait Thunder – 2025A” by the Chinese Media – Global Times. The Military exercise involved 15 missions of fighter, bomber, support aircraft, UAV; 37 missions of fighter, bomber, support aircraft, etc.
Sun Li-fang, Spokesperson of the Taiwanese defence ministry, said “No matter what the name is, it cannot cover up the naked provocative nature of the drills and their mentality of threatening Taiwan’s people,”
Also, it has come to the purview of the House Select Committee on China that websites of the Hotels like Hilton, Marriott and Hyatt used the phrase “Taiwan, China” in their websites and marketing materials. Chairman John Moolenar and Senator Marsha Blackburn expressed their concern on these changes and said in a statement, “The current practice, with implicit reference to Taiwan being a part of China, stands in stark contrast to the position of the United States government to the detriment of Taiwan, a thriving democracy and one of America’s top trading partners,”
Moolenar and Blackburn asked the CEOs of the hotels to make correction in their way of referring Taiwan and remarked if the use of phrase “Taiwan,China” in their websites was “influenced by any instructions, guidelines, requests, or suggestions from the PRC government or related entities.” of China.
This is not the first time businesses in the western countries were pressured by Chinese authorities to follow their method of branding as far as Taiwan was concerned:
In 2018, US Clothing Retailer Company GAP said ‘sorry’ to China for selling Tshirts that did not recognize Taiwan and Tibet as part of China. The design of those TShirts apparently showed an incorrect map showing only mainland China and omitting the territories which China claims.
Also in 2018, US Delta Airlines and Australian Airline Company Qantas faced a similar backlash with China for naming Tibet, Taiwan or Honkong as countries on its website. Civil Aviation Administration of China demanded the US Airlines company issued an immediate and public Apology and conduct an investigation on the matter. Qantas said it rectified the matter which was a mistake.
Chinese Shanghai Office of the Cyberspace Administration bullied Spanish Fashion Company Zara and Medtronic which is an American Medical Device Company for claiming Taiwan an independent country and advised the companies carried out self inspection of their websites and apps.
Dan Harris, an intellectual property rights lawyer specialized in China said, “I have to believe that most companies will make this change so as to not hurt their business with the PRC, especially since there is no indication that making this change will hurt business with Taiwan,”
China uses economic blackmail, diplomatic pressure and sometimes outright bullying to make the Western Countries comply with the Chinese demands of recognizing Taiwan other territories like Tibet and the Honkong as part of China.
