Taiwan faces daily military threats from China

Taiwan faces daily military threats from  authoritarian forces _ President Tsai Ing-wen said on Tuesday_ as the United States announced a new $280m arms sale package to the Chinese-claimed island_ the sixth this year. The outgoing Trump administration has ramped up support for the democratic island_ with 11 arms sale packages in total and on Monday notified Congress of its plans to sell a new Field Information Communications System (FICS) to Taiwan. The system is designed to provide mobile and secure communications on the island and is part of Taiwan s goal to modernise its military communications. Such sales have angered China_ adding to the existing tension between Beijing and Washington_ with China placing sanctions on US companies involved and stepping up its military activities near Taiwan_ including regular air force missions. Speaking at a security forum in Taipei_ Tsai noted the threats in the region_ including the  increasingly militarised South China Sea_ where China has built artificial islands with air and naval facilities claiming almost the entire area under its so-called  nine-dash line .  Authoritarian forces consistently attempt to violate the existing norms-based order. Taiwan has been at the receiving end of such military threats on a daily basis. Tsai said. Tsai did not name China. But in recent months_ Taipei has blamed Beijing for  repeated violations of its airspace. The Ministry of National Defense details almost daily incursions into Taiwan s airspace by Chinese aircraft. In September_ China reportedly threatened or entered into Taiwan s airspace 46 times in the past nine days_ it said.  Fly overs are happening almost every day now. Sometimes it s electronic intelligence planes escorted by fighters_ sometimes they re anti-submarine warfare planes_ Liao  Kitsch Yen-Fan_ a security analyst at the Institute of National Defense and Security Research in Taiwan. Liao told that China crossing the median line of Taiwan s Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) is  especially provocative . This is probably to test and map our response and establish the new normal. Tension between China and Taiwan has risen since President Tsai Ing-wen first took power in 2016_ but has intensified since she was re-elected in a landslide in January. Tsai rejects Beijing s view that Taiwan  self-ruled for 70 years and one of the region s most vibrant democracies  is part of  One China _ an assertion that angered China. Taiwan s defence ministry said the latest weapons sale demonstrated that the US commitment to helping strengthen the island s defence capabilities remained unchanged.- Al Jazeera