After a 12-minute journey, a torpedo launched from a Jianlong-class submarine hit its target ship yesterday, and officials at the Kaohsiung naval base hailed the drill as a success.
"The live drill proved that submarines are an effective and useful force, and the navy hopes that it can quickly establish an advanced submarine force," naval chief of operations Chen Pan-chih (陳邦治) said yesterday.
The drill was conducted in waters off Hsiao Liuchiu (小琉球), an island off the southwest coast. The Jianlong-class submarine launched the torpedo at 9am and hit the target in a violent plume of water. Chen and the other officials cheered as the torpedo hit the target.
PHOTO: AP
A half hour later, the smoking ship slowly sank.
The Navy broadcast the drill live at the Kaohsiung base. Chen admitted that he and naval officials were under pressure because variables in the sea environment might have affected the torpedo's path.
The navy has fired submarine-launched torpedoes five times in the last two years. Three of them hit the targets.
Chen said yesterday's drill used a large, wire-guided torpedo costing NT$100 million (US$3.2 million).
He then called for the formation of an advanced submarine force to deter China from engaging in a war.
Chen said that if China's submarines blockaded Taiwan's harbors and sea lanes, Taiwanese submarines would be able to counter-blockade in kind along the coast and in major harbors.
He said the currently stalled arms-procurement bill would, if passed, greatly increase the cost and risks for China if it attempted to start a war with Taiwan.
LONG FLIGHT: The jets would be flown by US pilots, with Taiwanese copilots in the two-seat F-16D variant to help familiarize them with the aircraft, the source said The US is expected to fly 10 Lockheed Martin F-16C/D Block 70/72 jets to Taiwan over the coming months to fulfill a long-awaited order of 66 aircraft, a defense official said yesterday. Word that the first batch of the jets would be delivered soon was welcome news to Taiwan, which has become concerned about delays in the delivery of US arms amid rising military tensions with China. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said the initial tranche of the nation’s F-16s are rolling off assembly lines in the US and would be flown under their own power to Taiwan by way
CHIP WAR: The new restrictions are expected to cut off China’s access to Taiwan’s technologies, materials and equipment essential to building AI semiconductors Taiwan has blacklisted Huawei Technologies Co (華為) and Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC, 中芯), dealing another major blow to the two companies spearheading China’s efforts to develop cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI) chip technologies. The Ministry of Economic Affairs’ International Trade Administration has included Huawei, SMIC and several of their subsidiaries in an update of its so-called strategic high-tech commodities entity list, the latest version on its Web site showed on Saturday. It did not publicly announce the change. Other entities on the list include organizations such as the Taliban and al-Qaeda, as well as companies in China, Iran and elsewhere. Local companies need
CRITICISM: It is generally accepted that the Straits Forum is a CCP ‘united front’ platform, and anyone attending should maintain Taiwan’s dignity, the council said The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday said it deeply regrets that former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) echoed the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) “one China” principle and “united front” tactics by telling the Straits Forum that Taiwanese yearn for both sides of the Taiwan Strait to move toward “peace” and “integration.” The 17th annual Straits Forum yesterday opened in Xiamen, China, and while the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) local government heads were absent for the first time in 17 years, Ma attended the forum as “former KMT chairperson” and met with Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference Chairman Wang Huning (王滬寧). Wang
CROSS-STRAIT: The MAC said it barred the Chinese officials from attending an event, because they failed to provide guarantees that Taiwan would be treated with respect The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Friday night defended its decision to bar Chinese officials and tourism representatives from attending a tourism event in Taipei next month, citing the unsafe conditions for Taiwanese in China. The Taipei International Summer Travel Expo, organized by the Taiwan Tourism Exchange Association, is to run from July 18 to 21. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office spokeswoman Zhu Fenglian (朱鳳蓮) on Friday said that representatives from China’s travel industry were excluded from the expo. The Democratic Progressive Party government is obstructing cross-strait tourism exchange in a vain attempt to ignore the mainstream support for peaceful development
RSS