Taiwan has taken delivery of 200 US AIM-120 missiles to boost defenses against China, a Chinese-language newspaper reported yesterday.
"The AIM-120 missiles are stored at the Hualien airbase in eastern Taiwan and at the Chiayi airbase in southwestern Taiwan. The missile made its debut at the Hualien airbase on Tuesday when two F-16 jets, each fitted with two AIM-120s, conducted a training flight over the Pacific Ocean," the paper said.
The paper printed a photo of an F-16 fitted with two AIM-120s and a photo of an AIM-120 missile.
Taiwan asked to buy AIM-120 missiles for installation on the Air Force's 150 F-16s to counter a threat posed by China's Sukhoi-30 warplanes, which carry Russian AA-12 missiles.
Like the AA-12, the AIM-120 advanced medium-range air-to-air missiles are active-radar-guided, with a maximum range of 50km.
The US approved the sale of 200 AIM-120 missiles to Taiwan in 2000. To avoid angering China, Washington decided it would not deliver the missiles until Taiwan faced a military threat.
"After the Chinese Air Force test-fired AA-12 missiles in June last year, the US agreed to deliver the AIM-120 missiles to Taiwan," the paper said.
Taiwanese airmen test-fired the AIM-120 missiles in the US at the end of last year, it said.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
Tropical Storm Fung-Wong would likely strengthen into a typhoon later today as it continues moving westward across the Pacific before heading in Taiwan’s direction next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 8am, Fung-Wong was about 2,190km east-southeast of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving westward at 25kph and possibly accelerating to 31kph, CWA data showed. The tropical storm is currently over waters east of the Philippines and still far from Taiwan, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said, adding that it could likely strengthen into a typhoon later in the day. It is forecast to reach the South China Sea
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