Joint exercises between the US and other countries cross northern part of ADIZ

Joint exercises between the US and other countries cross northern part of ADIZ

2023-02-27

The U.S., Japan, France and Australia recently held two-week joint exercises in the Pacific, with Australia playing the role of China’s PLA Air Force. At one point the drills saw an Australian surveillance aircraft doing low-altitude maneuvers over waters near Taiwan. A retired military official says the maneuvers were meant to simulate Chinese aircraft movement, as well as to build a database of Chinese electronic signals. He said Taiwan should seek to participate in the drills in the future, and that its participation would be a valuable experience.

The Air Force recently detected incursions into the northern part of Taiwan’s ADIZ by an Australian military aircraft, which entered the ADIZ four times. Commenting on the issue, a retired Air Force official said the incursions were likely part of the Cope North joint military exercises between Australia, the U.S., Japan and France. Australia played the part of the Chinese military in the exercises.

Chang Yen-ting
Retired Air Force official
Australia is more than 5,000 kilometers from Taiwan, but it came all the way here to participate in these exercises. The Australian aircraft flew at a very low altitude – from 1,200 feet, which is under 400 meters, down to 40 meters, flying like that over the sea. It was simulating low-altitude flight maneuvers by the Chinese military. The aircraft was an AP-3C, which is a surveillance aircraft that has lots of equipment on board used for electronic warfare. It’s being used to build an electromagnetic database for signals around the Taiwan Strait. This large database will help prepare those countries to deal with China’s electromagnetic and complex electromagnetic environment in the event of warfare.

The two-week Cope North 2023 exercises centered on Andersen Air Force Base in Guam, and extended to other locations in the Pacific including the Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, and the Japanese island of Iwo Jima.

Chang Yen-ting
Retired Air Force official
Since the scope of the Cope North exercises include the Taiwan Strait, it’s necessary for us to try to send an observation team to the U.S. We could go participate in some of the work involved to see how it’s done. In half a month we could learn very valuable experience, because it’s a real battlefield and is close to actual combat.

With the Cope North exercises encompassing areas in and around the Taiwan Strait, the retired official says Taiwan must be included. Given increasing support for Taiwan in Washington, perhaps Taiwan’s participation in the joint exercises will be on the books in the future.