Chief of the General Staff General Tang Yao-ming (
"Taiwan's air force does not maintain any secret or publicly known bases in foreign countries. But it does have a second-strike capability," Tang said at his first appearance at the legislature's Defense Committee following the March 18 presidential election. Tang was responding to inquiries from lawmakers over the reported plan to fly planes to a safe destination to avoid initial attacks and then use those aircraft to reinforce a second strike -- much like Iraq did during the 1992 Gulf War where it sent planes to neighboring Iran to avoid being destroyed by US-led allied forces.
Despite Tang's denial, sources speaking on customary anonymity told the Taipei Times that the government is in fact planning to make such a request to the Philippines as part of the terms for the continuing civil aviation talks between the two sides.
PHOTO: LIBERTY TIMES
"The Philippines is not the only choice for the air force in this matter. There are several other choices on the list. We don't know which country will be our final choice. But the groundwork will have been laid in advance of any eventuality," said the source.
Tang also made reference to the acquisition of new short- and medium-range surface-to-surface missiles which analysts expect will be brought into operation in the next few years, greatly enhancing the military's current arsenal.
DPP lawmaker Li Chih-hsiung (
Meanwhile, Tang shed some light on the military's plans to build its own surface-to-surface missiles.
"The cost for these missiles is very high. Each short-range missile costs around NT$20 million, while a medium-range one can run as high as NT$30 million. The operational cost for all the missiles will be billions of NT dollars," he said.
With the continuous modernization of the armed forces, Tang assured lawmakers that Taiwan still enjoys an advantage over China in its conventional warfare capability, although it is weaker in space and high-tech sectors.
Tang also conceded that there are some serious problems with the armed forces, especially in respect to the shortage of specialized personnel.
"The kinds of personnel which the armed forces are short of include non-commissioned officers [NCOs], officers at the level of captain, pilots, and company leaders in the army," Tang said.
"This personnel shortage is one of the most serious problems hampering the progress of the military's build-up. One of the major factors for the situation is the relatively low rate of pay," he said.
"The pay for an enlistee is obviously lower than that for a police officer or a public servant. If the salary for a serviceman is raised by 50 percent and the armed forces are still short of people, I will step down to take responsibility."
Lawmaker Wang Tien-ging (王天競) of the People First Party disagreed with Tang's assessment that salary was the main problem in the armed forces, saying that a serviceman's sense of honor and duty to his country should make up for the lack of pay.
Authorities have detained three former Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TMSC, 台積電) employees on suspicion of compromising classified technology used in making 2-nanometer chips, the Taiwan High Prosecutors’ Office said yesterday. Prosecutors are holding a former TSMC engineer surnamed Chen (陳) and two recently sacked TSMC engineers, including one person surnamed Wu (吳) in detention with restricted communication, following an investigation launched on July 25, a statement said. The announcement came a day after Nikkei Asia reported on the technology theft in an exclusive story, saying TSMC had fired two workers for contravening data rules on advanced chipmaking technology. Two-nanometer wafers are the most
NEW GEAR: On top of the new Tien Kung IV air defense missiles, the military is expected to place orders for a new combat vehicle next year for delivery in 2028 Mass production of Tien Kung IV (Sky Bow IV) missiles is expected to start next year, with plans to order 122 pods, the Ministry of National Defense’s (MND) latest list of regulated military material showed. The document said that the armed forces would obtain 46 pods of the air defense missiles next year and 76 pods the year after that. The Tien Kung IV is designed to intercept cruise missiles and ballistic missiles to an altitude of 70km, compared with the 60km maximum altitude achieved by the Missile Segment Enhancement variant of PAC-3 systems. A defense source said yesterday that the number of
A bipartisan group of US representatives have introduced a draft US-Taiwan Defense Innovation Partnership bill, aimed at accelerating defense technology collaboration between Taiwan and the US in response to ongoing aggression by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The bill was introduced by US representatives Zach Nunn and Jill Tokuda, with US House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party Chairman John Moolenaar and US Representative Ashley Hinson joining as original cosponsors, a news release issued by Tokuda’s office on Thursday said. The draft bill “directs the US Department of Defense to work directly with Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense through their respective
Tsunami waves were possible in three areas of Kamchatka in Russia’s Far East, the Russian Ministry for Emergency Services said yesterday after a magnitude 7.0 earthquake hit the nearby Kuril Islands. “The expected wave heights are low, but you must still move away from the shore,” the ministry said on the Telegram messaging app, after the latest seismic activity in the area. However, the Pacific Tsunami Warning System in Hawaii said there was no tsunami warning after the quake. The Russian tsunami alert was later canceled. Overnight, the Krasheninnikov volcano in Kamchatka erupted for the first time in 600 years, Russia’s RIA
RSS