The Council of Agriculture last month terminated a contract with a Taiwanese satellite image supplier after finding that its images were sourced from a China-based firm, a council official said yesterday, after local media raised information security concerns.
The council’s Agricultural Research Institute in May opened bidding to purchase hyperspectral satellite images, which are to be used to monitor crop growth and improve supply and demand.
The only Taiwanese firm that tendered a bid won it for NT$9.9 million (US$314,186), the Chinese-language Apple Daily reported yesterday.
Photo: CNA
However, only China’s Zhuhai-1 remote sensing satellite is able to satisfy the institute’s requirements for image resolution better than 10m with more than 30 wavebands, it said.
The images were actually to be supplied by a firm named Orbita Aerospace Science and Technology Co based in China’s Guangdong Province, it said, questioning the government’s resolve to develop its own space technology.
Council Deputy Minister Chen Junne-jih (陳駿季) told a news conference that officials terminated the deal on July 22 after finding it to be problematic.
There would be no penalty for breach of contract, given that it was terminated before the firm started to honor it, he said.
The bidding project aimed to purchase images taken by “commercial” satellites, while image analysis would be carried out by the institute, so there is no risk of leaking secure information, he said.
The Executive Yuan is to publish guidelines for blocking information and communication products that might jeopardize national security, while the council would set up clearer guidelines to prevent similarly controversial deals, Chen said.
Developing hyperspectral cameras for satellites involves high technical thresholds, and only the US and China are known to have the ability, National Space Organization Deputy Director-General Yu Shiann-jen (余憲政) said.
Taiwan still has a long way to go before it can autonomously develop such cameras, but it several years ago developed one for an aircraft, which is currently being tested, Yu added.
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
A total lunar eclipse, an astronomical event often referred to as a “blood moon,” would be visible to sky watchers in Taiwan starting just before midnight on Sunday night, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said. The phenomenon is also called “blood moon” due to the reddish-orange hue it takes on as the Earth passes directly between the sun and the moon, completely blocking direct sunlight from reaching the lunar surface. The only light is refracted by the Earth’s atmosphere, and its red wavelengths are bent toward the moon, illuminating it in a dramatic crimson light. Describing the event as the most important astronomical phenomenon
ENHANCING DETERRENCE: Stationing the missiles in Kyushu would allow Japan to cover waters near Taiwan and China’s coastal areas without any logistical difficulties Japan is to deploy extended-range anti-ship missiles at a Ground Self-Defense Force base in Kumamoto to bolster its defenses, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported on Saturday. The upgraded Type 12 surface-to-ship missile, with a range of more than 1,000km, would be capable of striking targets in the Taiwan Strait and along China’s coast. Originally limited to a few hundred kilometers, the Type 12 was recently modernized ahead of schedule. Deployment, initially slated for next year, has been accelerated after the upgrade was completed sooner than expected, the newspaper said. Stationing the missiles in Kyushu would allow Japan to cover waters near Taiwan and
The presence of Taiwanese politicians at China’s military parade tomorrow would send the wrong message to Beijing and the international community about Taiwan’s sovereignty and democracy, a national security official said yesterday. China is to hold the parade tomorrow to mark the 80th anniversary of Japan’s surrender in World War II. By bringing together leaders of “anti-West” governments such as Russia, North Korea, Iran and Belarus, the parade aims to project a symbolic image of an alliance that is cohesive and unbending against Western countries, the national security official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu