Island Will Treat China Flights Into Airspace as 'First Strike'...

TAIPEI, Taiwan - Taiwan's defense minister on Wednesday said the island will respond to incursions into its airspace by Chinese warplanes and drones, but gave no details on specific actions. China stepped up its military exercises, fired missiles into waters near Taiwan and sent warplanes across the dividing line in the Taiwan Strait in response to an August visit to the island by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the highest-ranking American official to visit Taiwan in 25 years. China denies the existence of the median line in the Taiwan Strait and challenged established norms by firing missiles over Taiwan into Japan's exclusive economic zone. Taiwan has thus far responded to Chinese incursions into its air defense identification zone by issuing warnings, scrambling jets and activating anti-air missile defenses. The growing frequency of such incursions has spurred a push in Taiwan to optimize its geographical advantages in resisting a much more powerful foe through asymmetrical warfare, such as the use of mobile weapons systems suited to repelling an invasion force. A former Japanese colony, Taiwan separated from mainland China in 1949 as Mao Zedong's Communists forced Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalists to relocate across the 180-kilometer -wide Taiwan Strait. ADVERTISEMENT. Chen also said Taiwan was firm in safeguarding trade secrets and key national technologies and ensuring its top scientific talent is not poached by China.