The military is considering stationing a squadron of Indigenous Defense Fighter (IDF) jets at Penghu County’s Magong Airport for year-round patrol duty in light of China’s unilateral decision to open new commercial flight routes in the Taiwan Strait, a source said on Friday.
Strong northeasterly monsoon winds in the area during winter can create unfavorable conditions for light fighter planes, such as IDF jets, which is why the squadron is normally based in Penghu from April to October, said a senior official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Due to its proximity to the Chinese coast, the fighter squadron would be called on first if the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Air Force were to make a sudden deployment, the official said.
Photo: Su Fang-ho, Taipei Times
A Republic of China Air Force officer familiar with combat readiness and the deployment of the nation’s air force to Penghu commented anonymously, saying that year-round deployment of IDF jets — the Hsiung Ying (雄鷹, or Goshawk) or C/D models — to Penghu is pending further assessments.
The squadron is to be temporarily deployed to Penghu, because route M503 near the median line of the Strait poses a potential threat to the nation’s air defense, but the ministry is still debating the feasibility of basing the squadron in Penghu, the official said.
The National Security Council on Friday held a meeting to discuss the effects of China’s decision to open route M503 and other connecting routes to northbound commercial flights.
The council concluded that the move contravenes the 2015 agreement between Taiwan and China that opened route M503 to southbound commercial traffic.
It has instructed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Transportation and Communications to seek the support of European nations and the US over the matter, while lodging a protest against China with the International Civil Aviation Organization, sources said.
The Ministry of National Defense was asked to offer viable reactionary measures to effectively strengthen aerial defenses over the Bashi Channel, the sources added.
The defense ministry would step up alert and information-gathering capabilities over the Strait, with any incursion of Chinese planes over the median line to be intercepted, warned and driven back over the line, the sources said.
Additional reporting by CNA
‘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
Taiwan is still in the process of assessing the possibility of recruiting workers from Eswatini, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday, adding that its goal is to help Eswatini upgrade its vocational training centers. If there are plans to recruit workers from Eswatini, safeguarding national security, protecting public health and ensuring the employment rights of Taiwanese would be prerequisites, Department of West Asian and African Affairs Director-General Yen Chia-liang (顏嘉良) told a news conference. Key considerations would also include filling labor shortages in specific industries, and fostering bilateral professional and technical exchanges, he said. Yen was asked about the progress of labor
‘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
RSS