Because China has never signed a treaty banning the use of cluster bombs, to maximize its military position, Taiwan will continue to include the weapons in its arsenal, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said on Thursday.
While the majority of Taiwan’s cluster bombs are imported, the ministry said that the Chung Shan Institute of Science and Technology has made the necessary preparations to independently manufacture the bombs.
TREATY
Cluster bombs often kill innocent civilians.
On May 28, 124 countries reached an agreement on a treaty in Dublin, Ireland, that will ban the use of cluster bombs internationally. This treaty will most likely be signed in Oslo, Norway, at the end of this year.
However, the world’s main users and manufacturers of cluster bombs, including China, the US, Israel, India and Russia are against moves to ban the weapons and are not likely to sign the treaty.
A cluster bomb is loaded with smaller bomblets, which are sprayed across a wide area and are capable of causing massive damage at distances of up to 25m.
Unexploded cluster bombs left behind after attacks have killed many innocent civilians and have therefore drawn much international attention.
TAIWAN’S ARSENAL
Military officials said half of Taiwan’s RT2000 (Thunder) multiple launch rocket systems are packed with high-explosive shell types, while the other half are packed with cluster bombs.
Taiwan would use cluster bombs to attack ships in waters close to Taiwan. The bombs are dispersed across the surface of the ocean and should therefore pose no threat to civilians, the ministry said.
While cluster bombs will continue to be included in Taiwan’s arsenal for the time being, high-explosive shell bombs will be used in place of cluster bombs if the international ban succeeds.
TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT: A US Air Force KC-135 tanker came less than 1,000 feet of an EVA plane and was warned off by a Taipei air traffic controller, a report said A US aerial refueling aircraft came very close to an EVA Airways jet in the airspace over southern Taiwan, a military aviation news Web site said. A report published by Alert 5 on Tuesday said that automatic dependent surveillance–broadcast (ADS-B) data captured by planfinder.net on Wednesday last week showed a US Air Force KC-135 tanker “coming less than 1,000 feet [305m] vertically with EVA Air flight BR225 as both aircraft crossed path south of Taiwan” that morning. The report included an audio recording of a female controller from the Taipei air traffic control center telling the unidentified aircraft that it was
A US aircraft carrier group led by the USS Theodore Roosevelt has entered the South China Sea to promote “freedom of the seas,” the US military said yesterday, as tensions between China and Taiwan raise concerns in Washington. US Indo-Pacific Command said in a statement that the strike group entered the South China Sea on Saturday, the same day Taiwan reported a large incursion of Chinese bombers and fighter jets into its air defense identification zone near the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島). The US military said the carrier strike group was in the South China Sea, a large part of which
STRATEGIC MISTAKE: Beijing’s deployment of aircraft near Taiwan proves the ‘China threat theory’ that sees it attempting to destabilize the region, an analyst said China on Saturday and yesterday sent a record number of military aircraft into the nation’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ), in what analysts said was an attempt to flex its military might for US President Joe Biden. Thirteen Chinese warplanes flew into Taiwan’s southwestern ADIZ on Saturday and 15 entered yesterday, the highest number observed in a single day this year, the Ministry of National Defense said. On Saturday, eight Xian H-6K bombers, four Shenyang J-16 fighters and a Y-8 anti-submarine aircraft, entered the ADIZ, while yesterday there were two Y-8s, two Su-30s, four J-16s, six J-10 fighters and a Y-8 reconnaissance
DISPOSING MYTHS: A new constitution would better reflect reality, as the current one was drafted ‘in and for China,’ without the consent of Taiwanese, advocates said Independence advocates yesterday launched the Taiwan New Constitution Alliance to promote drafting a new, localized constitution. “This is a historic moment for Taiwan. Drafting a new constitution is the most important task Taiwanese face,” veteran independence advocate Koo Kwang-ming (辜寬敏) said at the inaugural event in Taipei. “Although the Democratic Progressive Party is in power, its authority is based on the Republic of China [ROC] Constitution, which has no connection to Taiwan,” said the 95-year-old Koo, a former presidential adviser. “The historic task of drafting a new constitution depends on efforts by all Taiwanese,” Koo said. “A constitution for a sovereign, independent Taiwan
RSS