A recent Taipei Times article (“Kao not worried about N Korean missile,” April 12, page 3), reported that in a discussion of Taiwan’s capability to intercept a North Korean missile, Minister of National Defense Kao Hua-chu (高華柱) said: “It [North Korea] does not pose a threat to us [Taiwan].”
Kao’s confident assertion of the military’s ability to intercept a stray missile is based on the perceived technological effectiveness on Taiwan’s long-range radar installation at Leshan (樂山), Hsinchu County.
The military’s success in detecting a North Korean rocket launch on Dec. 12 last year, a few minutes earlier than Japan’s discovery of the launch, is indeed impressive.
Given the recent shift in the regional military balance of power toward China, this success is timely and seems to bear out Kao’s assurances, made on a number of occasions since October 2010, that the NT$30 billion (US$1.01 billion) system would be able to track any missiles or rockets launched by Beijing.
However, one cannot help but wonder whether this was an opportunity missed. During his recent tour of Japan, South Korea and China, US Secretary of State John Kerry reiterated the US’ position on North Korea and confirmed its security commitments to Japan and South Korea.
However, Kerry made no reference to Taiwan, although he had previously done so during questions from the US Senate in early February.
Perhaps there was no reason for Kerry to mention Taiwan during his Asian tour? After all, is North Korea really a threat to Taiwan’s national security? Perhaps not directly, but in the event that Pyongyang followed up on its aggressive rhetoric and launched a missile aimed at, for example, the US territory of Guam, there exists the possibility that such a missile might go astray and accidentally strike Taiwan.
As there appears to be something of a regional consensus on the North’s provocative stance, Taiwan could potentially use this opportunity to attempt to extend its international influence by voicing its concerns over regional security.
This would be more likely to succeed if Taipei were to follow the examples of other regional protagonists by publicly demonstrating a stronger sense of vigilance and concern pro bono publico, rather than merely voicing confidence in its own early-warning system.
On Nov. 6, the Taipei Times quoted Lieutenant General Liu Shi-lay (劉溪烈), a retired defense ministry official, saying that information collected by Taiwan’s radar system would not be offered to the US.
However, perhaps now would be a good time to offer to share any data relating to North Korea not only with the US, but also with other parties in the region on condition that Taiwan’s status in regional discussions was enhanced.
This would also be an opportunity for Beijing to endorse a strategy complementing President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) recent comments, made during a one-hour videoconference with US academics on April 17, that improved cross-strait relations are consistent with US interests in the region and that rapprochement has helped to enhance peace across the Strait.
Niki Alsford is a research fellow at the University of London’s Centre of Taiwan Studies in the School of Oriental and African Studies.
A recent report concerning a student who is suing his teacher posed the question in its headline: Does failing a student in two subjects constitute bullying? The college student in Chiayi County apparently sought NT$2 million (US$63,603) in state compensation, but a court dismissed the case. The first reaction of many might have been to ask: What has happened to students nowadays? Some say that teachers have lost their authority, while others say students are overindulged. Some even start reminiscing over the days when “whatever the teacher says goes.” However, the real issue might be overlooked if emotional reactions like that are the
When I visited Taiwan last summer, I called on the nation to use its status as a technology superpower to build superweapons. It is obvious to me as I return a year later that Taiwan is now answering that call. By 2030, Taiwan envisions a domestic drone hub, capable of producing large quantities of drones per year. The nation continues to tighten cooperation across the private sector, scientific researchers and the elected government, on creating new and innovative production avenues for defense, while efforts to become central to the “democratic supply chain” are only increasing. Anduril is seeing all of these positive
Singaporean former Prime Minister and current senior minister Lee Hsien- Loong(李顯龍) last month stood on Chinese soil and told Beijing that Singapore cooperates because of “shared interests”, not because of common “ethnic descent,” a significant statement that has upended China’s cognitive warfare tactics of “ethnic nationalism.” Along with using its military buildup and economic growth to expand its international dominance, China has long deployed ethnic politics to promote the idea that all ethnic Chinese around the world, regardless of citizenship, share a tight bond with the Chinese motherland, by which it means the regime of the People’s Republic of China (PRC)
Taiwan’s economic momentum, driven by demand for artificial intelligence (AI) products, remains strong, with booming demand for advanced semiconductors, servers and key components. In the first quarter, GDP expanded 14.55 percent year-on-year, the second consecutive quarter of double-digit percentage growth and accelerating from the 12.95 percent expansion in the previous quarter, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) reported on Friday. Net exports remained the dominant driver of growth, contributing 10.33 percentage points to Taiwan’s GDP growth in the first quarter. That came as exports rose 35.76 percent year-on-year in the first quarter, outpacing 26.34 percent growth in imports, the
RSS