The Taiwanese military is prepared for possible maneuvers by the China’s aircraft carrier group in the Taiwan Strait, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said yesterday.
The group — composed of the Liaoning aircraft carrier and five escort vessels — is conducting exercises in the South China Sea, and might sail along the Taiwan Strait’s median line on its return to its home base in the northeastern Chinese port city of Qingdao.
The ministry has an uninterrupted communication channel with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) in case the carrier group engages in maneuvers during the president’s nine-day visit to the nation’s Central American allies, which is to begin on Saturday, ministry spokesman Major General Chen Chung-chi (陳中吉) said.
Photo: Reuters
The armed forces have conducted drills during Han Kuang military exercises to simulate possible aircraft carrier maneuvers in the Strait, he added.
“We have [missiles] ready, but we cannot reveal the details,” Chen said in response to media reports that hundreds of missiles have been deployed on the west coast to prepare for the carrier’s passage.
Taiwan will seek alliances with other nations, military or otherwise, to ensure regional security and economic stability, Chen said about reports of a cooperation agreement between Taiwan, the US and Japan, which would allow the nations’ military aircraft to be identified as “friendly” on one another’s radar systems.
The armed forces would respond to Chinese military action in accordance with the ministry’s defense response procedures, should carrier-borne aircraft, such as Shenyang J-15 fighter aircraft, intrude into Taiwan’s airspace, Chen said.
The ministry has experience in monitoring the carrier’s activities and initiating appropriate responses, as the Liaoning cruised through the Taiwan Strait to conduct cross-sea training in 2014, Joint Intelligence Center Director Major General Wang Shao-hua (王紹華) said.
“[The military] has the ability to detect all activities of the carrier group,” Wang said.
The group sailed through waters east of Taiwan late last month — the first time it crossed the first island chain — and should the Liaoning cruise along the median line of the Taiwan Strait on its return voyage, it would be the first time that it had done so with aircraft onboard.
“The combat capabilities of the Liaoning are developing and further observations are needed to determine if it can function on par with its US counterparts,” Wang said.
Japan has deployed long-range missiles in a southwestern region near China, the Japanese defense minister said yesterday, at a time when ties with Beijing are at their lowest in recent years. The missiles were installed in Kumamoto in the southern region of Kyushu, as Japan is attempting to shore up its military capacity as China steps up naval activity in the East China Sea. “Standoff defense capabilities enable us to counter the threat of enemy forces attempting to invade our country ... while ensuring the safety of our personnel,” Japanese Minister of Defense Shinjiro Koizumi said. “This is an extremely important initiative for
MORE POPULAR: Taiwan Pass sales increased by 59 percent during the first quarter compared with the same period last year, the Tourism Administration said The Tourism Administration yesterday said that it has streamlined the Taiwan Pass, with two versions available for purchase beginning today. The tourism agency has made the pass available to international tourists since 2024, allowing them to access the high-speed rail, Taiwan Railway Corp services, four MRT systems and four Taiwan Tourist Shuttles. Previously, five types of Taiwan Pass were available, but some tourists have said that the offerings were too complicated. The agency said only two types of Taiwan Pass would be available, starting from a three-day pass with the high-speed rail and a three-day pass with Taiwan Railway Corp. The former costs NT$2,800
NEW LOW: The council in 2024 based predictions on a pessimistic estimate for the nation’s total fertility rate of 0.84, but last year that rate was 0.69, 17 percent lower An expected National Development Council (NDC) report expects the nation’s population to drop below 12 million by 2065, with the old-age dependency ratio to top 100 percent sooner than 2070, sources said yesterday. The council is slated to release its latest population projections in August, using an ultra-low fertility model, the sources said. The previous report projected that Taiwan’s population would fall to 14.37 million by 2070, but based on a new estimate of the total fertility rate (TFR) — the average number of children born to a woman over her lifetime — the population is expected to reach 12 million by
COUNTERING HOSTILITY: The draft bill would require the US to increase diplomatic pressure on China and would impose sanctions on those who sabotage undersea cable networks US lawmakers on Thursday introduced a bipartisan bill to bolster the resilience of Taiwan’s submarine cables to counter China’s hostile activities. The proposal, titled the critical undersea infrastructure resilience initiative act, was cosponsored by Republican representatives Mike Lawler and Greg Stanton, and Democratic Representative Dave Min. US Senators John Curtis and Jacky Rosen also introduced a companion bill in the US Senate, which has passed markup at the chamber’s Committee on Foreign Relations. The House’s version of the bill would prioritize the deployment of sensors to detect disruptions or potential sabotage in real-time and enhance early warning capabilities through global intelligence sharing frameworks,
RSS