A Mirage 2000 jet fighter crashed into the sea yesterday morning, but its two crewmembers managed to eject to safety and were rescued.
It was the second air force jet fighter to be lost in less than a week after an F-16 crashed into the sea on Wednesday. Its pilot was also rescued.
All of the air force’s F-16s were grounded after the incident.
Photo: CNA
The air force said contact with the Mirage 2000 was lost at 10:18am, while the aircraft was on a training mission off Hsinchu County.
The air force said the crew, Lieutenant-Colonel Liu Yuan-hsiang (劉永祥), 38, and First Lieutenant Cheng Yu-teng (鄭育騰), 27, were rescued from the sea by an S-70C helicopter.
The pair, who were sent to a Hsinchu hospital, suffered only slight injuries.
The air force said the Mirage took off at 9:54am from Hsinchu Air Base and its crew ejected from the fighter in accordance with flight regulations after a red alarm light began to flash.
It said an investigative task force has gone to Hsinchu to look into the incident.
Taiwan procured 60 Mirage 2000s from France in 1992. Counting yesterday’s incident, four have now crashed.
Asked by reporters whether Taiwan’s air defense capabilities have been compromised with both F-16 and Mirage jets grounded, Air Force Chief of General Staff Major General Ding Chung-wu (丁忠武) said the air force’s 144 F-16s had all been cleared for operations yesterday, so the nation’s air defense was not weakened.
The military had originally planned to dispatch two F-16s to participate in a joint drill conducted by navy and Coast Guard Administration personnel on Thursday in waters south of Taiwan, but following last week’s crash, Mirage 2000 jet fighters were deployed from Hsinchu to take part instead.
The joint drill was held to show the government’s determination to protect Taiwanese fishermen operating there, following the fatal shooting of fisherman Hung Shih-cheng (洪石成) by Philippine Coast Guard personnel in waters where the exclusive economic zones of Taiwan and the Philippines overlap.
NEXT GENERATION: The four plants in the Central Taiwan Science Park, designated Fab 25, would consist of four 1.4-nanometer wafer manufacturing plants, TSMC said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) plans to begin construction of four new plants later this year, with the aim to officially launch production of 2-nanometer semiconductor wafers by late 2028, Central Taiwan Science Park Bureau director-general Hsu Maw-shin (許茂新) said. Hsu made the announcement at an event on Friday evening celebrating the Central Taiwan Science Park’s 22nd anniversary. The second phase of the park’s expansion would commence with the initial construction of water detention ponds and other structures aimed at soil and water conservation, Hsu said. TSMC has officially leased the land, with the Central Taiwan Science Park having handed over the
AUKUS: The Australian Ambassador to the US said his country is working with the Pentagon and he is confident that submarine issues will be resolved Australian Ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd on Friday said that if Taiwan were to fall to China’s occupation, it would unleash China’s military capacities and capabilities more broadly. He also said his country is working with the Pentagon on the US Department of Defense’s review of the AUKUS submarine project and is confident that all issues raised will be resolved. Rudd, who served as Australian prime minister from 2007 to 2010 and for three months in 2013, made the remarks at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado and stressed the longstanding US-Australia alliance and his close relationship with the US Undersecretary
TAIWAN IS TAIWAN: US Representative Tom Tiffany said the amendment was not controversial, as ‘Taiwan is not — nor has it ever been — part of Communist China’ The US House of Representatives on Friday passed an amendment banning the US Department of Defense from creating, buying or displaying any map that shows Taiwan as part of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The “Honest Maps” amendment was approved in a voice vote on Friday as part of the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for the 2026 fiscal year. The amendment prohibits using any funds from the act to create, buy or display maps that show Taiwan, Kinmen, Matsu, Penghu, Wuciou (烏坵), Green Island (綠島) or Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) as part of the PRC. The act includes US$831.5 billion in
‘WORLD WAR III’: Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene said the aid would inflame tensions, but her amendment was rejected 421 votes against six The US House of Representatives on Friday passed the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for fiscal 2026, which includes US$500 million for Taiwan. The bill, which totals US$831.5 billion in discretionary spending, passed in a 221-209 vote. According to the bill, the funds for Taiwan would be administered by the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency and would remain available through Sept. 30, 2027, for the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative. The legislation authorizes the US Secretary of Defense, with the agreement of the US Secretary of State, to use the funds to assist Taiwan in procuring defense articles and services, and military training. Republican Representative