We left before dawn to reach the southernmost point of Taiwan.
A remote, windswept location with a unique insight into a potentially dangerous confrontation unfolding above.
Atop a stormy hill, you can see the water in three directions, the Pacific Ocean to the east, the Bashi Channel to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the west.
Our host is a former Navy radar operator and radio enthusiast.
Robin Hsu comes to this place almost every day in a car equipped with a homemade antenna and audio receivers.
He says it’s the best place on the island to listen to fighter activity.
There are many mundane communications captured by his kit, the crew of nearby ships conversing for example, and air traffic control directing commercial aircraft.
But others are extraordinary, and it didn’t take us long to hear some.
“You are endangering our safety”
A sudden, crackling but loud sound through Robin’s mounted speakers is a Mandarin voice identifying itself as Taiwanese military with a clear direction to the Chinese fighter jets.
“You entered our southeast air defense [air defence identification zone]” it barked.
“You are endangering our safety, turn around and leave immediately.”
A similar message follows just a few moments later.
“It’s common,” says Robin.
It’s proof that somewhere in the skies above, a Chinese fighter jet has approached Taiwanese airspace — crossing what’s known as the Middle Line, the unofficial maritime border between the two.
Taiwan is a self-governing democracy that China sees as its own. Taking control of the island is a stated priority of Chinese leader Xi Jinping, and these flights are part of a wider picture of increased pressure.
Robin records these interactions every day and says he’s seen a huge increase since he first started doing this in 2020.
The number of Chinese aircraft making trips has increased fivefold
Indeed, the statistics support his observations, the number of Chinese aircraft making these trips increased fivefold from 2020 to 2022.
There are other recordings, an American voice sending a warning to Chinese planes.
“I am a United States military aircraft conducting lawful military activity in international airspace and exercises as warranted by international law,” it said.
“I act with the duties, rights and obligations of all states.”
Robin felt that the tone was sometimes intentionally mocking and provocative.
“Leave now”
And perhaps most intriguingly, he sometimes hears Chinese pilots as well. According to him, the Chinese voices came from the planes themselves, not from the military command.
We hear one issue a warning to American planes not to come any closer to Chinese airspace.
“This is the PLA [People’s Liberation Army] air force,” it said. “You have entered China’s territorial airspace.”
And then, in English, loud and clear: “Leave now, leave now.”
“You can tell they’re nervous,” Robin says.
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2:57 China will “probably” invade Taiwan
And they might be. These flights are very risky – one wrong step by either side in such tense and tense scenarios can quickly escalate into a serious conflict.
Robin posted her entries on her Facebook page. This endeavor costs him considerable time and money, so why does he do it?
Read more: Taiwan minister says when China most likely to invade China launches biggest ever incursion into Taiwan’s air defense zone
He says he believes that in the past Taiwanese authorities wanted people to believe that things were peaceful and that any risk to the island was limited.
“But the military planes of the Chinese Communist Party and the CCP are always around you, around me.”
He wants people to know the reality of the threat so that if the time comes, Taiwan will be prepared.
“I love my country,” he says. “It is my duty.”
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