Taiwan will seek to buy modern weapons from the US for self-defense only and not to spark an arms race with China, the Ministry of National Defense said on Saturday.
“We have changed the definition of ‘winning the war’ from ‘winning against our enemies’ to ‘preventing enemies from landing in Taiwan,’” the ministry said in a statement on Saturday night.
“Under this guideline, we want to build a small but strong armed force to defend our country and fend off enemy invasion,” the ministry said.
The statement was issued in response to a Japanese Defence White Paper released by the Defense Ministry on Friday.
The White Paper warned that “the military balance between China and Taiwan has changed to the advantage of China” and that China in recent years has begun to make its military capable of assuming missions other than a Taiwan contingency.
“We need to keep watch of China’s maritime activities,” the Japanese Defense Ministry said in the annual white paper.
“Given the modernization of China’s navy and air force, it is expected that their capability will expand beyond China’s adjacent waters,” it said, pointing to recent cases of Chinese vessels passing close to Japanese territorial waters.
The ministry said Taiwan would continue to seek US approval of sales of diesel submarines, military helicopters, PAC-III anti-missile systems and F-16C/D fighter aircraft.
In related news, local media yesterday cited Reserve Command sources as saying that an initial investigation launched by the ministry into an obscene video involving two male sergeants while on duty found that the incident happened three years ago as a group of sergeants from a reserve brigade were taking a training course.
A cable news channel last week aired a video showing the soldiers, wearing camouflage uniforms, possibly engaged in a sex act while about 40 other servicemen looked on and laughed.
The video sparked public outrage and drew criticism from both the governing and opposition parties, with some lawmakers threatening to cut the defense budget. The ministry later apologized for the scandal, which it said had tarnished the military’s image.
Local media yesterday cited Reserve Command sources as saying that an initial probe showed that 32 people could be investigated, though all but one have retired from the army.
The video was the latest in a series of scandals to hit the military.
A recent crackdown has led to the investigation of 114 generals over allegations of corruption and bribery for career advancement. The investigation was launched in April after a retired lieutenant general was indicted on charges of bribery, blackmail and leaking classified material.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost