In an unprecedented move, Taiwan's military yesterday opened two top secret Air Force bases for the first time to the media, removing the veil of secrecy that had shrouded the sites for years.
The two military sites are the Chiashan (
The two bases are the most important military locations on the island.
Chiashan serves as the command post of the country's last remaining counter-attack forces in the event of a war and Hengshan is the country's top military command center during both war and peace time.
The construction of the Chiashan base, which began in 1985, took seven years to complete and cost about NT$27.2 billion, officials at Chiashan said. Upon its completion, it was said to be the largest base of its kind in the Far East.
The construction of Chiashan included the hollowing out of a mountain to accommodate fighter planes and attack helicopters from around the country during times of war. The entire base is essentially a shelter for planes, including Mirage 2000-5s and US-made F-16s. The number of planes the site can accommodate at any one time, however, is still classified by the military for national security reasons.
During yesterday's media tour, two French-made Mirage 2000-5 jet fighters took off from exits in the hollowed-out mountain base, performing dry-runs of maneuvers that mimic real-life military confrontations.
The Hengshan Command Post was another ambitious project by the military. Construction began in 1960, 11 years after the KMT government established itself in Taiwan.
The project, which involved the excavation of a mountain in the Taipei suburb of Tachih, was not completed until 1982. It serves as the highest-level military command center in both war and peace as well as an operational center for the government during war.
It features a high-tech command center, which receives real-time information about enemy troop movements and can order immediate responses.
The military demonstrated real-time information it had obtained regarding the crossing of the median line of the Taiwan Strait by Chinese jet fighters on July 25 and July 30.
Officials at the center said they have taken appropriate measures to prepare for attacks from the mainland.
"The Chinese planes were spotted and tracked from take-off. Before the planes reached the middle of the Strait, our fighter planes and anti-aircraft missile sites were already on alert," an official said.
Chief of the General Staff Gen. Tang Yao-ming (
The base also provides space for major governmental agencies to operate in times of a war, including offices for the president and the Cabinet.
One of two tropical depressions that formed off Taiwan yesterday morning could turn into a moderate typhoon by the weekend, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Tropical Depression No. 21 formed at 8am about 1,850km off the southeast coast, CWA forecaster Lee Meng-hsuan (李孟軒) said. The weather system is expected to move northwest as it builds momentum, possibly intensifying this weekend into a typhoon, which would be called Mitag, Lee said. The radius of the storm is expected to reach almost 200km, she said. It is forecast to approach the southeast of Taiwan on Monday next week and pass through the Bashi Channel
NO CHANGE: The TRA makes clear that the US does not consider the status of Taiwan to have been determined by WWII-era documents, a former AIT deputy director said The American Institute in Taiwan’s (AIT) comments that World War-II era documents do not determine Taiwan’s political status accurately conveyed the US’ stance, the US Department of State said. An AIT spokesperson on Saturday said that a Chinese official mischaracterized World War II-era documents as stating that Taiwan was ceded to the China. The remarks from the US’ de facto embassy in Taiwan drew criticism from the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation, whose director said the comments put Taiwan in danger. The Chinese-language United Daily News yesterday reported that a US State Department spokesperson confirmed the AIT’s position. They added that the US would continue to
The number of Chinese spouses applying for dependent residency as well as long-term residency in Taiwan has decreased, the Mainland Affairs Council said yesterday, adding that the reduction of Chinese spouses staying or living in Taiwan is only one facet reflecting the general decrease in the number of people willing to get married in Taiwan. The number of Chinese spouses applying for dependent residency last year was 7,123, down by 2,931, or 29.15 percent, from the previous year. The same census showed that the number of Chinese spouses applying for long-term residency and receiving approval last year stood at 2,973, down 1,520,
EASING ANXIETY: The new guide includes a section encouraging people to discuss the threat of war with their children and teach them how to recognize disinformation The Ministry of National Defense’s All-Out Defense Mobilization Agency yesterday released its updated civil defense handbook, which defines the types of potential military aggression by an “enemy state” and self-protection tips in such scenarios. The agency has released three editions of the handbook since 2022, covering information from the preparation of go-bags to survival tips during natural disasters and war. Compared with the previous edition, released in 2023, the latest version has a clearer focus on wartime scenarios. It includes a section outlining six types of potential military threats Taiwan could face, including destruction of critical infrastructure and most undersea cables, resulting in