Minister of National Defense Lee Jye (李傑) said yesterday the Chinese military has conducted more than 30 military exercices focusing on Taiwan.
Lee said the People's Liberation Army (PLA) has been growing in strength, and its military drills have been conducted under Chinese President Hu Jintao's (胡錦濤) principle of "talk less while doing more, hide the real but show the fake" (少說多做、隱真示假).
He highlighted the Chinese military threat yesterday morning during a meeting of the legislature's National Defense Committee. He said the Chinese military drills had emphasized landings on Taiwan, and the Chinese military believed it could land in a short period of time.
Lee said China has more than 20 satellites which were able to monitor Taiwan and the Taiwan Strait 24-hours a day. He said the quantity and quality of Chinese warships and submarines were increasing, and its power projection capabilities are also advancing.
Lee said China was also believed to be developing its first aircraft carrier. He said if China built an aircraft carrier force, it would be able to attack Taiwan from more directions.
Lee said China had targeted about 900 ballistic and cruise missiles at Taiwan, and the numbers were increasing at around 75 to 100 per year. China was also developing new missiles, Lee said.
He said about 500 advanced fighter jets with long-range missiles had also been deployed at China's military bases.
Lee noted that China had earmarked 351 billion yuan (US$45 billion) for its defense budget this year, an increase of 53 billion yuan over last year.
It was the the sharpest rise in the defense budget in a decade and a 17.8 percent increase in Beijing's military budget, he said.
Lee warned the military balance between China and Taiwan has been tipping in favor of Beijing.
The gap would increase if Taiwan did not build an advanced military force, he said.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-Wong tomorrow, which it said would possibly make landfall near central Taiwan. As of 2am yesterday, Fung-Wong was about 1,760km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving west-northwest at 26kph. It is forecast to reach Luzon in the northern Philippines by tomorrow, the CWA said. After entering the South China Sea, Typhoon Fung-Wong is likely to turn northward toward Taiwan, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said, adding that it would likely make landfall near central Taiwan. The CWA expects to issue a land
Taiwan’s exports soared to an all-time high of US$61.8 billion last month, surging 49.7 percent from a year earlier, as the global frenzy for artificial intelligence (AI) applications and new consumer electronics powered shipments of high-tech goods, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. It was the first time exports had exceeded the US$60 billion mark, fueled by the global boom in AI development that has significantly boosted Taiwanese companies across the international supply chain, Department of Statistics Director-General Beatrice Tsai (蔡美娜) told a media briefing. “There is a consensus among major AI players that the upcycle is still in its early stage,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it is expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong this afternoon and a land warning tomorrow. As of 1pm, the storm was about 1,070km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, and was moving west-northwest at 28 to 32kph, according to CWA data. The storm had a radius of 250km, with maximum sustained winds of 173kph and gusts reaching 209kph, the CWA added. The storm is forecast to pass near Luzon in the Philippines before entering the South China Sea and potentially turning northward toward Taiwan, the CWA said. CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi yesterday said that China using armed force against Taiwan could constitute a "survival-threatening situation" for Japan, allowing the country to mobilize the Japanese armed forces under its security laws. Takaichi made the remarks during a parliamentary session while responding to a question about whether a "Taiwan contingency" involving a Chinese naval blockade would qualify as a "survival-threatening situation" for Japan, according to a report by Japan’s Asahi Shimbun. "If warships are used and other armed actions are involved, I believe this could constitute a survival-threatening situation," Takaichi was quoted as saying in the report. Under Japan’s security legislation,
RSS