Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng (邱國正) said Tuesday that current procedures allowed for the shooting down of People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft deemed to have made a “first strike” by breaching Taiwan’s territorial airspace.
Chiu told a legislative session the increasing frequency of PLA drone activities meant that any breaches of Taiwan’s territorial airspace would now constitute a “first strike.”
The defense minister said exisiting procedures called for the military to first identify incoming hostiles, broadcast warnings, and sound alarms.
Should these measures fail to ward off intruding aircraft, Chui said such aircraft “should be downed whenever possible.”
However, the defense minister emphasized that Taiwan’s military would not launch an unannounced counterstrike.
Meanwhile, Chiu said a cut in the amount allocated for jet fuel in the ministry’s proposed budget for the fiscal year 2023 was due to a surplus carried over from this year.
The defense minister said there were no plans to cut the military’s overall budget amid the increasing threat from China, adding that Taiwan’s spending would focus on effectively boosting combat readiness.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel