Taiwan announces new red line with China

Taiwan has changed the definition of what constitutes a first strike by China, Defense Minister Qiu Guozheng said in a parliamentary speech According to him, the changes are due to the fact that Beijing is also changing its tactics.

"Previously, we considered an attack using artillery shells and missiles as the first strike. Now Chinese drones cross the line without any need, causing us a lot of trouble," Qiu Guozheng said.

Therefore, he explained, it is the drones entering Taiwan's airspace that will now be regarded as the first strike.

The minister said last week that Taiwan would definitely take countermeasures if the Chinese military crossed the red line. At the time, he said that Taipei understood the first strike as an invasion of Chinese combat aircraft into the airspace of the island at a distance of 12 nautical miles from its coast. What exactly will Taiwan's response measures be, Qiu Guozheng did not specify.

Beijing does not recognize the sovereignty of Taiwan, considers it its province and is jealous of other countries' contacts with it. The situation around the island escalated after the speaker of the US House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, visited Taipei in August. Beijing condemned the visit as US support for Taiwanese separatism.