The Ministry of National Defense refused to comment yesterday on reports that it had suspended a plan to station missiles in Matsu as a result of pressure from the US.
The ministry's response came after the United Evening News reported on Monday that the military had been planning to deploy missiles on the island, which lies just off China's Fujian coast.
"We will not comment on the story. We will not confirm or deny anything at this moment," ministry spokesman Major General Yu Sy-tue (
The deployment, reportedly the brainchild of former defense minister Lee Jye (
Although Minister of National Defense Lee Tien-yu (李天羽) has kept a low profile on the matter, he is reported to have visited Matsu last week, ostensibly to "encourage the troops and celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival with them."
The report said the military had allocated a budget and sent missile experts to Matsu earlier this year to prepare for the deployment of surface-to-surface missiles, the paper said.
However, the defense ministry recently suspended the plan but would continue mass production of the missiles, the newspaper said.
Taiwan is seeking to boost its defenses against China, but Taipei's military build-up is being closely scrutinized by the US.
Taiwan-China ties have worsened in recent months as the former has applied to join the UN using the name "Taiwan" instead of "Republic of China (ROC)" and intends to hold a referendum on joining the UN in March.
On Monday, China admitted that in late April and early May its warships had sailed past Taiwan's east coast -- through the channel between Okinawa and the smaller Japanese islet of Miyako -- on their way to a military exercise at sea.
The naval maneuver was first reported by Japan's Asahi Shimbun on April 28, but China had kept silent on the issue until Monday.
The Asahi said two missile destroyers and two frigates from China's North Sea Fleet had left Shanghai on April 28 for the exercise and returned home on May 11.
The military has spotted two Chinese warships operating in waters near Penghu County in the Taiwan Strait and sent its own naval and air forces to monitor the vessels, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said. Beijing sends warships and warplanes into the waters and skies around Taiwan on an almost daily basis, drawing condemnation from Taipei. While the ministry offers daily updates on the locations of Chinese military aircraft, it only rarely gives details of where Chinese warships are operating, generally only when it detects aircraft carriers, as happened last week. A Chinese destroyer and a frigate entered waters to the southwest
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck off the coast of Yilan County at 8:39pm tonight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The epicenter was 38.7km east-northeast of Yilan County Hall at a focal depth of 98.3km, the CWA’s Seismological Center said. The quake’s maximum intensity, which gauges the actual physical effect of a seismic event, was a level 4 on Taiwan’s 7-tier intensity scale, the center said. That intensity level was recorded in Yilan County’s Nanao Township (南澳), Hsinchu County’s Guansi Township (關西), Nantou County’s Hehuanshan (合歡山) and Hualien County’s Yanliao (鹽寮). An intensity of 3 was
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s comment last year on Tokyo’s potential reaction to a Taiwan-China conflict has forced Beijing to rewrite its invasion plans, a retired Japanese general said. Takaichi told the Diet on Nov. 7 last year that a Chinese naval blockade or military attack on Taiwan could constitute a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan, potentially allowing Tokyo to exercise its right to collective self-defense. Former Japan Ground Self-Defense Force general Kiyofumi Ogawa said in a recent speech that the remark has been interpreted as meaning Japan could intervene in the early stages of a Taiwan Strait conflict, undermining China’s previous assumptions
Taiwan Railways Corp (TRC) today announced that Shin Kong Mitsukoshi has been selected as the preferred bidder to operate the Taipei Railway Station shopping mall, replacing the current operator, Breeze Development Co Ltd. Among eight qualified firms that delivered presentations and were evaluated by a review committee, Shin Kong Mitsukoshi was ranked first, while Breeze was named the runner-up, the rail company said in a statement. Contract negotiations are to proceed in accordance with regulations, it said, adding that if negotiations with the top bidder fail, it could invite the second-ranked applicant to enter talks. Breeze in a statement today expressed doubts over
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