A US congressional committee was told on Wednesday that Taiwan needed more advanced fighter aircraft and diesel submarines to defend itself against a possible attack by China.
Testifying before the US House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs, Larry Wortzel, a specialist on the Chinese and Taiwanese military, said that despite a notable improvement in relations across the Taiwan Strait, Beijing continues to insist on its right to use force should Taiwan move toward independence.
“The cross-strait military balance increasingly favors China. Beijing has deployed over 1,100 short-range ballistic missiles opposite the island. In my view, Taiwan’s most pressing need is for new or modernized fighter aircraft,” Wortzel said.
Wortzel was speaking at a committee briefing on “China’s behavior and its impact on US interests” held on the first day of Chinese President Hu Jintao’s (胡錦濤) state visit to Washington.
Republican Representative David Rivera described Taiwan as “a bastion of democracy surrounded by a fortress of tyranny.”
NEW OR EXISTING
Wortzel said the big question was whether to sell Taipei F-16C/D aircraft, which have a long range and could be used for deep strikes inside China “if their [Taiwan’s] military chose to do that” or modernize the existing F-16A/B aircraft that Taiwan already possesses.
He said that he had talked with aviation engineers who thought that with the addition of brand new avionics, radar and targeting equipment, the A/Bs could be converted into “very capable aircraft.”
“They need the aircraft and I think they have to have that need addressed,” Wortzel said.
Representative Gerry Connolly, a Democrat, asked if there was any reason to believe that Taiwan was not capable of defending itself in case of an invasion.
“I don’t think that is the issue,” Wortzel said. “The issue is how capable would they be in doing it. They would have a hard time defending against 1,100 ballistic missiles. The missiles would do a lot of damage. They would be hard pressed if there were massive special operations insertions into Taiwan to disrupt the infrastructure.”
He said Taiwan could do more to strengthen airfields and storage facilities.
“If there is one thing they could do to immediately improve their capabilities, it would be to link all of their ground, naval, air assets and missiles so they could take part in cooperative target engagements,” Wortzel said. “They are developing their own multiple launch rocket systems and could probably use assistance with precision guided rounds.”
SUBMARINES
Asked about submarines, Wortzel said: “It’s a very difficult problem ... It’s a problem for the US Navy because we really don’t want to work on, or produce, diesel submarines, but they need these submarines.”
“The United States could get Costa Rica to buy a dozen submarines from Germany and then transfer them and it wouldn’t hurt anybody — if the Germans would look the other way on the re-transfer,” he said.
‘NO SECURITY RISK’: The Railway Bureau reassured the public that the technicians’ activities were limited to technical guidance and did not involve sensitive systems The Railway Bureau yesterday said it had invited eight Chinese technicians to assist with an airport MRT construction project. The bureau issued the confirmation after an Internet user said Chinese nationals had entered the construction zone of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport’s Terminal 3 project. They asked why “individuals from an enemy state” were allowed access to such a major national infrastructure project, which raised serious concerns over Taiwan’s industrial safety, sensitive systems and information security. The bureau’s Northern Region Engineering Branch Office said subcontractor Taiwan Handle Industrial Co (台灣手把工業) of the Taoyuan airport MRT’s “Contract No. CU05 Project A14 Station Civil, MEP &
A US uncrewed surface vessel (USV) encountered multiple Chinese warships during an autonomous transit of the Taiwan Strait, US defense company Seasats said in a statement on Wednesday. Seasats announced that a Lightfish USV had completed the first autonomous transit of the Taiwan Strait. Over five days, the USV traversed the entire length of the Strait while constantly monitoring surface vessel traffic, the company said. The Lightfish encountered multiple Chinese warships, one of which was a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) Type 056 corvette, it said. The Chinese vessels were operating “well within Taiwan’s exclusive economic zone without transmitting their identity via the
‘BOOMING’: ’ The number of partners we have here is incredible. You can see from their stock prices. They’re doing so well, they’re so happy,’ Jensen Huang said Nvidia Corp’s spending in Taiwan has ballooned to about US$150 billion a year, 10 times the US$10 billion to US$15 billion the company spent five years ago, Nvidia chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) said yesterday, suggesting Taiwan’s strategic importance in the global artificial intelligence (AI) supply chain. “Taiwan is the epicenter of the AI revolution. This is where the chips come, packaging comes. This is where the systems are made. This is where AI supercomputers were created,” Huang said at a meeting for the company’s employees in Beitou-Shilin Technology Park (北投士林科技園區) in Taipei, the planned site of Nvidia’s Taipei headquarters. “Taiwan
GREATER REACH? Auto parts and wood products would face tariffs of up to 15%, matching those targeting the EU, Japan and South Korea, Vice Premier said The US has announced that preferential tariff treatment for Taiwan’s non-semiconductor Section 232 goods would take effect retroactively from May 1, the Executive Yuan said yesterday. The US government yesterday posted a notice on the Federal Register’s public inspection Web site previewing tariff concessions for Taiwan under a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Taiwan-US investment after two months of negotiations. The MOU signed on Jan. 15 stipulated three major preferential tariff arrangements: a 15 percent “reciprocal” tariff rate for Taiwan without stacking most-favored nation (MFN) rates; preferential Section 232 treatment for semiconductors and related products; and preferential Section 232 treatment for non-semiconductor
RSS