The Taiwan Strait was not peaceful during the New Year’s Eve holiday, with a number of incursions into the areas around Taiwan by the Chinese air force and navy. The Ministry of Defense has reported that Sunday saw 24 aircraft and 4 ships making incursions, while on Monday those numbers were 8 and 3, respectively. Several of the incursions crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait, with some close enough to cause alerts of Sky Bow and Patriot missile bases in New Taipei City.
Some military experts in Taiwan have expressed concern that China’s incursions will move closer to the island in 2023. Former deputy commander of the Air Force Lt. Gen. Chang Yen-ting (張延廷), is one such expert. He suggested that China may try to improve trade and economic relations with Taiwan, while at the same time increasing military pressure. He noted that incursions across the median line the Taiwan Strait became routine in 2022. Based on this, he believes that Chinese incursions will move even closer in 2023, possibly even entering the air over Taiwan’s territorial waters.
A state’s territorial waters are defined as extending out 12 nautical miles from its coast according to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Taiwan, a non-UN member, cannot be a signatory to the treaty but has passed laws generally consistent with UNCLOS. UNCLOS is considered to be customary international law, and thus legally binding even on non UN member states.