The Ministry of National Defense stepped up to the plate to defend an arms procurement bill yesterday, inviting dozens of local and foreign journalists to military facilities in southern Taiwan to hear its case.
A naval official yesterday said that although China has more than 80 submarines, Taiwan's navy has only a fleet of obsolete S-2T Turbo Tracker sub-hunting aircraft that are unable to detect most of the submarines, and that was why the navy needed the more advanced P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft.
To give the public and the media a better understanding of the navy's anti-submarine warfare (ASW) capabilities, the navy yesterday invited reporters to visit a naval air base in Pingtung County, and displayed the S-2T aircraft and its weapon systems.
PHOTO: CHANG CHUNG-YI, TAIPEI TIMES
The navy has urged the public to support the purchase of 12 P-3Cs from the US -- one of three big-ticket items in a purchase that has been blocked for months by the pan-blue controlled legislature.
"The radar, infrared, magnetic anomaly detector and sonar systems fitted on the S-2T aircrafts to detect submarines and monitor unknown vessels are too old to efficiently complete the mission," said a commander of the S-2T force, Captain Wu Chun-wei (
He said the S-2T could only stay in the air for three hours and 20 minutes, with a top speed of 180 nautical miles per hour, which only allows them to operate in a small area.
He added that the S-2Ts have no air conditioning, no Global Positioning System (GPS) and few computer systems, and that pilots have to operate the aircraft manually -- all of which makes for a high-pressure ride for pilots.
"When S-2T pilots carry out missions in the summer, they are already sweating a lot before they get in the aircraft, but then when they fly in the winter, they must withstand the cold," Wu added.
He said most S-2T pilots consider the aircraft dangerous to fly.
In comparison, Wu said, the P-3C can stay in the air for 17 hours with a top speed of 405 nautical miles per hour.
The aircraft is equipped with a much better detection and weapon systems. And more importantly, the P-3C would be able to link to the military's command and control system, which would significantly enhance the navy's ASW capabilities.
He added that S-2Ts are unable to detect China's best submarines, such as the Ming-class, Song-class and Kilo-class submarines, as well as its nuclear-powered subs.
"We have found that China is obtaining much quieter submarines," Wu added.
He said only sustained patrols using advanced maritime patrol aircraft such as the P-3C can detect China's submarines when they are underwater around Taiwan.
He added that the navy has calculated that if it procures US P-3Cs, those aircraft could be used for more than 20 years.
Wu said the navy mainly patrols the waters northeast, southeast and east of Taiwan, and that 12 P-3Cs would be sufficient to protect the nation's waters.
Wu said that of the navy's 26 S-2Ts, only 16 of the 50-year-old aircraft are serviceable.
The navy's anti-submarine force includes 26 S-2Ts, eight 500MD helicopters and 18 S-70C helicopters. Taiwan purchased 32 used S-2Ts in 1976.
Eight restaurants in Taiwan yesterday secured a one-star rating from the Michelin Guide Taiwan for the first time, while three one-star restaurants from last year’s edition were promoted to two stars. Forty-three restaurants were awarded one star this year, including 34 in Taipei, five in Taichung and four in Kaohsiung. Hosu (好嶼), Chuan Ya (川雅), Sushi Kajin (鮨嘉仁), aMaze (心宴), La Vie by Thomas Buhner, Yuan Yi (元一) and Frassi in Taipei and Front House (方蒔) in Kaohsiung received a one-star rating for the first time. Hosu is known for innovative Taiwanese dishes, while Chuan Ya serves Sichuan cuisine and aMaze specializes
STATS: Taiwan’s average life expectancy of 80.77 years was lower than that of Japan, Singapore and South Korea, but higher than in China, Malaysia and Indonesia Taiwan’s average life expectancy last year increased to 80.77 years, but was still not back to its pre-COVID-19 pandemic peak of 81.32 years in 2020, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. The average life expectancy last year increased the 0.54 years from 2023, the ministry said in a statement. For men and women, the average life expectancy last year was 77.42 years and 84.30 years respectively, up 0.48 years and 0.56 years from the previous year. Taiwan’s average life expectancy peaked at 81.32 years in 2020, as the nation was relatively unaffected by the pandemic that year. The metric
Taitung County is to launch charter flights to Malaysia at the end of this year, after setting up flights to Vietnam and Thailand, the Taitung County Government said yesterday. The new charter flight services, provided by low-cost carrier Batik Air Malaysia, would be part of five-day tour packages for visits to Taitung County or Malaysia. The Batik Air charter flight, with about 200 seats, would take Malaysian tourists to Taitung on Dec. 30 and then at 12:35pm return to Kuala Lumpur with Taiwanese tourists. Another charter flight would bring the Taiwanese home on Jan. 3 next year, arriving at 5:30pm, before taking the
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
RSS