China's air force has deployed 12 advanced Jian-10 fighter jets to Zhejiang Province, a news report said yesterday.
"The military is studying why the Chinese military has [recently] been unveiling its development of new weapons in such a high-key fashion, such as the production of J-10 fighter jets and the launching of a ballistic missile to shoot down an orbiting satellite," Ministry of National Defense spokesman Rear Admiral Wu Chi-fang (
"The military wants to know what strategy or goal is behind the posturing," Wu said.
Wu said the military would soon make public information concerning the impact of China's deployment of J-10 fighters.
Chinese state TV last month aired videos that it described as showing that batches of the J-10 fighter -- both the single-seat J-10A and the two-seat J-10B -- had entered operational service.
Footage showed the jets performing aerial maneuvers, including firing air-to-air and air-to-surface missiles.
Wu yesterday did not confirm whether or not the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) had deployed J-10 jets in Zhejiang, one of three coastal provinces that abut the Taiwan Strait.
The Chinese-language daily China Times yesterday cited a military source as saying that 12 J-10 jets had been deployed at an air force base around 500km from Taiwan.
The news report said Taiwanese military officials believe that the J-10's combat performance is inferior to that of comparable fighters, such as the Russian-made Su-27 and Su-30 fighters. The PLAAF currently possesses some 400 Su-27s and Su-30s.
Taiwan's air force still sees the Chinese Su-27 and Su-30 fighter jets as the main rivals for Taiwan's advanced fighter aircraft, and uses them as primary targets when conducting computer war games, the newspaper said, without citing a reference.
International military experts believed the PLAAF would produce 300 to 500 J-10 jets, the newspaper said, adding that Taiwan's military intelligence learned China would produce only 120 J-10s, without providing a source.
The newspaper also speculated that the deployment of J-10s would pose a threat to Taiwan's security, and that the new jets would gradually replace PLAAF old J-7 and J-8II fighter jets.
The newspaper said China would send J-8 and J-10 jets force to engage Taiwan's US-made F-16 and French-made Mirage 2000 war planes in the beginning of a cross-strait conflict, before sending its more advanced Russian-made aircraft.
The strategy is to weaken Taiwan's air force through attrition, the news report cited an unnamed military source as saying.
Hong Kong-based defense magazine Kanwa Defense Review Editor-in-Chief Andrei Chang told the state-run Central News Agency earlier this month that China wanted to deter the possibility of instability and tension across the Taiwan Strait this year and next by highlighting its military capabilities.
Chang said, however, that the J-10 jets were no match for late-model F-16s in combat performance, particularly with regard to air-to-surface combat.
MAKING WAVES: China’s maritime militia could become a nontraditional threat in war, clogging up shipping lanes to prevent US or Japanese intervention, a report said About 1,900 Chinese ships flying flags of convenience and fishing vessels that participated in China’s military exercises around Taiwan last month and in January last year have been listed for monitoring, Coast Guard Administration (CGA) Deputy Director-General Hsieh Ching-chin (謝慶欽) said yesterday. Following amendments to the Commercial Port Act (商港法) and the Law of Ships (船舶法) last month, the CGA can designate possible berthing areas or deny ports of call for vessels suspected of loitering around areas where undersea cables can be accessed, Oceans Affairs Council Minister Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) said. The list of suspected ships, originally 300, had risen to about
DAREDEVIL: Honnold said it had always been a dream of his to climb Taipei 101, while a Netflix producer said the skyscraper was ‘a real icon of this country’ US climber Alex Honnold yesterday took on Taiwan’s tallest building, becoming the first person to scale Taipei 101 without a rope, harness or safety net. Hundreds of spectators gathered at the base of the 101-story skyscraper to watch Honnold, 40, embark on his daredevil feat, which was also broadcast live on Netflix. Dressed in a red T-shirt and yellow custom-made climbing shoes, Honnold swiftly moved up the southeast face of the glass and steel building. At one point, he stepped onto a platform midway up to wave down at fans and onlookers who were taking photos. People watching from inside
Japan’s strategic alliance with the US would collapse if Tokyo were to turn away from a conflict in Taiwan, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said yesterday, but distanced herself from previous comments that suggested a possible military response in such an event. Takaichi expressed her latest views on a nationally broadcast TV program late on Monday, where an opposition party leader criticized her for igniting tensions with China with the earlier remarks. Ties between Japan and China have sunk to the worst level in years after Takaichi said in November that a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan could bring about a Japanese
STREAMLINED: The dedicated funding would allow the US to transfer equipment to Taiwan when needed and order upgraded replacements for stockpiles, a source said The US House of Representatives on Thursday passed a defense appropriations bill totaling US$838.7 billion, of which US$1 billion is to be allocated to reinforcing security cooperation with Taiwan and US$150 million to replace defense articles provided to the nation. These are part of the Consolidated Appropriation Act, which the US House yesterday passed with 341 votes in favor and 88 against. The act must be passed by the US Senate before Friday next week to avoid another government shutdown. The US House Committee on Appropriations on Monday unveiled the act, saying that it allocates US$1 billion for the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative
RSS