Asymmetrical warfare, mobile land-based long-range precision strike capability and multi-functional unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are to make up the principle focus of the military, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said in its report entitled Modernization of the Military over the Next Five Years.
The report, sent to the legislature last week for approval, sought to define and clarify Taiwan’s development of basic and asymmetrical combat capabilities, as well as the preservation of combat capabilities.
The development of the military’s asymmetrical forces places emphasis on the development of mobile land-based, long-range precision and area-of-effect strike capabilities, building and purchasing multi-functional UAVs as well as attack helicopters capable of littoral and beachhead attack capabilities and the establishment of all-frequency electronic detection, electronic countermeasures and cyberwarfare attack and detection capabilities, the report said.
Asymmetrical warfare is the establishment of a military force not overtly noticeable in peacetime, but capable of hitting enemy forces’ strategic centers hard in times of war and seeks to attack the vulnerabilities of the enemy to destroy or incapacitate their ability to continue to wage war, the report said.
It seeks to create positional advantages over the enemy and make the best use of all military forces by making the enemy reluctant to start a war after considering its potential losses, the report said.
Meanwhile, according to an unnamed ministry official, the mobile long-range strike capability includes the Hsiung Feng IIE missile and other surface-to-surface tactical ballistic missiles.
During the 1996 Taiwan Strait Crisis, the armed forces modified a type of missile so that it would be able to reach coastal cities in China, but because it was an deployed in an emergency situation, the accuracy and reliability of the modified missiles were not ideal, the official said.
After years of research and modification, the missile’s range, precision and reliability have developed to the extent that it has become an “effective countermeasure,” the official said.
However, because of the sensitivity of the issue, the official declined to comment further on the missile’s capabilities.
On the issue of UAVs, the official said the production of UAVs was part of a global trend, pointing out that the Chinese were now developing UAVs with attack capabilities.
The Chinese claim that the “Yilong” UAV they designed is superior to the US Predator, the official said, adding that although the UAVs the Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology has designed are based on the Predator, the long-range goal of the design is to manufacture a weapon on a par with the Reaper-class drones.
The institute has already handed over to the army 32 of its self-designed and researched UAVs, all of which are being used in training exercises in Taimali Township (太麻里) Taitung County, the official said.
The UAV would be used primarily for scouting and reconnaissance, the official said.
The official also said that despite many flaws in the design of the UAV, the military was confident that it would be able to correct those flaws and move towards the next stage of designing attack-capable UAVs.
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard