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進入《TAIPEI TIMES 焦點》 MND amenable to PRC landings in an emergency
Minister of National Defense Feng Shih-kuan, right, yesterday told a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign and National Defense Committee in Taipei that the defense ministry has withheld some information about Chinese exercises in international airspace near Taiwan in the past so that the public does not become alarmed. Photo: CNA
HUMANITARIAN MOVE: The defense minister told lawmakers that as long as a state of war did not exist across the Strait, a landing request could be granted
By Chen Wei-han / Staff reporter
Chinese military aircraft might be allowed to land in Taiwan in emergencies as a humanitarian gesture, Minister of National Defense Feng Shih-kuan （馮世寬） said yesterday.
Should Chinese military aircraft flying near Taiwan request permission to land because of mechanical issues or conflict with Japanese military aircraft, the request could be granted for humanitarian reasons, Feng said during a question-and-answer session at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign and National Defense Committee.
Democratic Progressive Party （DPP） Legislator Tsai Shih-ying （蔡適應） asked whether increased Chinese military activity could lead to a situation in which Chinese aircraft might need to request an emergency landing.
“Should such a scenario unfold and both [Taiwan and China] do not go to war against each other, we should accept [the request] on humanitarian grounds and allow them to leave immediately after repairs are completed,” Feng said.
Taiwan has provided similar emergency assistance before.
Two US Marine Corps F/A-18 Hornets landed at Tainan Air Force Base on April 1 last year after one of the planes developed a mechanical problem and requested emergency assistance.
The planes, based in Japan, were on a routine flight when the incident occurred. The US sent technicians to repair the Hornet, and the planes left Tainan on April 3.
Chinese military aircraft flew around Taiwan and over the Miyako Strait between Japan’s Okinawa and Miyako islands on Saturday.
It is likely that China could conduct more such exercises on a regular basis and deploy refueling aircraft to allow its fighters to fly longer distances, Feng said.
Warning orders will be issued to Chinese military aircraft intruding into Taiwan’s air defense zone according to the Ministry of National Defense’s （MND） response procedures, Feng said, adding that warplanes would be deployed in such a situation.
Taiwanese fighters that were scrambled on Saturday were loaded with missiles and capable of engaging the Chinese aircraft, he said.
“China knows that we have the ability [to destroy incoming planes], so the Chinese aircraft did not intrude into Taiwan’s airspace,” he said.
Taiwan does not need to conduct training missions outside its air defense zone and Taipei does not have diplomatic ties with neighboring countries needed to do so, he said.
DPP Legislator Lo Chih-cheng （羅致政） asked whether Japanese warplanes launched “jamming shells” while tracking the Chinese aircraft on Saturday.
Feng said it was likely that Japanese F-15s did fire “jamming shells.”
The US military also responded to the Chinese exercise, but details of its moves could not be revealed, the ministry said.
When asked why ministry data were different from Japanese information on the number of Chinese aircraft involved in Saturday’s exercise, Feng said that the ministry did not release detailed data and neither did Japan’s military for strategic reasons.
The ministry said there were more than 10 Chinese aircraft involved; Japan said there were six.
“The release was to let the public know that we remain threatened by the enemy and to inspire young people to join the military to protect the nation,” Feng said.
The ministry has withheld information about other Chinese exercises in international airspace near Taiwan so as to not worry the public, he added.
Additional reporting by Diane Baker
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
