The Ministry of National Defense (MND) said yesterday that any hope of implementing cross-strait military confidence-building measures were being hampered by China's refusal to withdraw or destroy missiles aimed at Taiwan.
“This issue is complicated,” Vice Admiral Lee Hsi-ming, director of the ministry's Military Strategy Planning Department, told a press conference in Taipei to mark the release of its biennial defense policy paper.
The removal of the missiles and confidence-building measures are key parts of President Ma Ying-jeou's (馬英九) cross-strait strategy for improving relations with a view to eventually signing a peace agreement.
Asked whether Taiwan has started talking with China on the establishment of such a mechanism, he said: “There is no timetable yet.”
However, the military has been conducting studies and surveys in this area to prepare for future talks, he said, including establishing a hot line between Taipei and Beijing and signing a pact to limit the deployment of military personnel and equipment against each other.
“We have not been able to make progress because China has not given up ... the notion of using force against Taiwan,” the ministry said, adding that China had continued to hold exercises aimed at preparing its troops to invade Taiwan.
“China has increased the frequency of its military exercises to pressure us since October 2008, when the US government announced the sale of an arms package to us,” the report said.
China has deployed at least 1,300 missiles at coastal military bases targeting Taiwan, “including short-range ballistic and cruise missiles ... by the Communist forces at their Nanjing and Guangzhou military bases,” it added.
Asked whether the ministry was up to date on the exact number of Chinese missiles, Intelligence Department Deputy Director Kao Chung-bang (高中邦) said it was classified information.
“The MND is fully aware of the latest situation, but we cannot make detailed information public,” Kao said.
Kao said Chinese missiles were also a major threat and concern for the US and Japan as the Chinese military continued to upgrade and develop new ones.
The Chinese air force also has more than 700 fighters based within 1,000km of Taiwan, the report said.
It said some of the fighters are equipped with airborne refueling facilities that can be used to extend their combat duration.
China's navy has been boosted by the introduction of nuclear-powered attack submarines and major combat vehicles armed with medium-range ballistic missiles capable of striking moving targets at sea.
“The purpose is to deter or delay foreign aircraft carriers coming to the rescue of Taiwan should war break out in the Strait,” it said.
While the report did not identify this “foreign force,” the only nation likely to send carriers to Taiwan in a war scenario is the US.
Meanwhile, the ministry denied a report by the military periodical Defense News that a submarine procurement team based in Washington could be disbanded as chances of Taiwan procuring submarines has diminished.
“I hereby clarify that the team remains functional and we have no intention of disbanding it anytime soon,” ministry spokesman Major General Yu Sy-tue (虞思祖) said.
A signaling system malfunction disrupted high-speed rail (HSR) services beginning at 8am today, with trains temporarily reduced to three northbound and three southbound trains per hour as authorities conduct inspections. The malfunction occurred on a section of track in Miaoli County during pre-operation checks early this morning, forcing northbound and southbound trains to use a single track, the HSR operator said. The regular schedule has been replaced with three hourly trains offering only nonreserved seating in each direction, stopping at every station, it said, adding that business class cars would still have reserved seating. Departures from terminal stations are scheduled at the top
DRONE CENTRAL: Taiwan aims to become Asia’s democratic hub for drones, with most exports focused on high-quality military-grade models, an official said Taiwan’s drone industry is expected to expand significantly by 2030, producing 100,000 units per month and exporting half of them, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. Current drone production capacity is about 15,000 units per month, but the industry can quickly scale up as demand increases, Industrial Development Administration Director-General Chiou Chyou-huey (邱求慧) told a news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s drone output grew 2.5-fold last year to NT$12.9 billion (US$408.3 million) under a government program to develop the uncrewed vehicle sector, he said. The Executive Yuan in October last year approved plans to invest NT$44.2 billion into domestic production of uncrewed aerial
VERBOSE VESSELS: A CGA cutter and a China Coast Guard exchanged verbal barbs for more than a day in Taiwanese-controlled waters before the Chinese vessel left The Taiwanese and Chinese coast guards had a standoff near the strategically located Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島) in the north of the South China Sea, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said yesterday. The two sides engaged in intense radio exchanges over sovereignty claims during the 33-hour standoff. China Coast Guard vessel 3501 eventually left the restricted waters, 26.6 nautical miles (49.2km) west of the Pratas Islands, at 5pm yesterday, the CGA said. Lying approximately between southern Taiwan and Hong Kong, the Taiwan-controlled Pratas are seen by some security experts as vulnerable to Chinese attack due to their distance — more than
WARNING: China should stop engaging in actions that undermine regional peace and stability, as it would only build resentment among people across the Strait, the CGA said China has deployed more than 100 navy, coast guard and other vessels in waters from the Yellow Sea to the South China Sea and the western Pacific since US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) met in Beijing, National Security Council Secretary-General Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said yesterday. “In this part of the world, #China is the one & only PROBLEM wrecking the #StatusQuo & threatening regional peace & stability,” Wu wrote on X. In a separate post, he said Beijing was coercing Taiwan’s maritime domain, calling it illegal and provocative, after the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) expelled a
RSS