The US is close to activating a missile shield over southern Europe as part of its effort to shore up regional defenses in the face of a missile threat from Iran, the Washington Post reported late on Saturday.
Citing unnamed Pentagon officials, the newspaper said the US Department of Defense is nearing a deal to establish a key radar ground station probably in Turkey or Bulgaria.
The installation of a high-powered X-band radar would enable the first phase of the shield to become operational next year, the report said.
In September last year, US President Barack Obama scrapped a missile shield project that would have seen a powerful radar installed in the Czech Republic and 10 long-range ballistic interceptor missiles in Poland.
The shield plan had enraged Russia, which called it a security menace on its doorstep.
However, the Post said, a plan to protect southern Europe from missiles is still being implemented.
The US military is also working with Israel and allies in the Persian Gulf to build and upgrade their missile defense capabilities, the report said. The US installed a radar ground station in Israel in 2008 and is looking to place another in an Arab country in the gulf region, the paper said.
The radars would provide a critical early warning of any launches from Iran, the Post said.
The missile defenses in Europe, Israel and the Gulf are technically separate and in different stages of development, the paper said, but they are all designed to plug into command-and-control systems operated by, or with, the US military.
The Israeli radar is operated by US personnel and is providing information to US Navy ships in the Mediterranean, the paper said.
In his National Day Rally speech on Sunday, Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) quoted the Taiwanese song One Small Umbrella (一支小雨傘) to describe his nation’s situation. Wong’s use of such a song shows Singapore’s familiarity with Taiwan’s culture and is a perfect reflection of exchanges between the two nations, Representative to Singapore Tung Chen-yuan (童振源) said yesterday in a post on Facebook. Wong quoted the song, saying: “As the rain gets heavier, I will take care of you, and you,” in Mandarin, using it as a metaphor for Singaporeans coming together to face challenges. Other Singaporean politicians have also used Taiwanese songs
NORTHERN STRIKE: Taiwanese military personnel have been training ‘in strategic and tactical battle operations’ in Michigan, a former US diplomat said More than 500 Taiwanese troops participated in this year’s Northern Strike military exercise held at Lake Michigan by the US, a Pentagon-run news outlet reported yesterday. The Michigan National Guard-sponsored drill involved 7,500 military personnel from 36 nations and territories around the world, the Stars and Stripes said. This year’s edition of Northern Strike, which concluded on Sunday, simulated a war in the Indo-Pacific region in a departure from its traditional European focus, it said. The change indicated a greater shift in the US armed forces’ attention to a potential conflict in Asia, it added. Citing a briefing by a Michigan National Guard senior
CHIPMAKING INVESTMENT: J.W. Kuo told legislators that Department of Investment Review approval would be needed were Washington to seek a TSMC board seat Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) yesterday said he received information about a possible US government investment in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and an assessment of the possible effect on the firm requires further discussion. If the US were to invest in TSMC, the plan would need to be reviewed by the Department of Investment Review, Kuo told reporters ahead of a hearing of the legislature’s Economics Committee. Kuo’s remarks came after US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on Tuesday said that the US government is looking into the federal government taking equity stakes in computer chip manufacturers that
US President Donald Trump on Friday said that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) told him China would not invade Taiwan while Trump is in office. Trump made the remarks in an interview with Fox News, ahead of talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. “I will tell you, you know, you have a very similar thing with President Xi of China and Taiwan, but I don’t believe there’s any way it’s going to happen as long as I’m here. We’ll see,” Trump said during an interview on Fox News’ Special Report. “He told me: ‘I will never do
RSS