A number of neighboring countries sent ships to seas off the east coast of Pingtung County to observe the military's test-firing of US-made Patriot missiles last month, defense sources said yesterday.
According to the defense sources, China, South Korea, the Philippines and India sent ships to observe the June 20 missile tests.
The tests, in which a dummy aircraft and missile were successfully knocked out of the sky with three Patriots, took place at a missile-testing site in Chiupeng township in Pingtung County.
A defense official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said he wasn't surprising that Taiwan's first test-firing of the Patriot missiles drew the attention of neighboring countries.
The military had announced before the June 20 test date that it planned to try out the Patriots, providing ample time for other countries to coordinate their surveillance activities.
"But it was surprising that India was also curious about the missile tests," the official said. "They traveled a long distance from the Indian continent, only because they were curious about the missile tests."
According to the official, it wasn't the first time that the Indian military was discovered to be engaging in surveillance activities off Taiwan.
In recent years, at least one submarine from India has been spotted by the Taiwan navy off the eastern coast, according to defense sources.
"It was amazing that the Philippines was also interested in Taiwan's missile tests," the official said. "What they sent to collect information was basically a fishing ship, which didn't carry much high-tech equipment."
Among the countries that observed the Patriot tests, China expends the most effort collecting information on Taiwan's military capabilities.
In addition, China has an estimated 300 missiles pointed at Taiwan, and the Patriot missiles have been procured to help defend the country from that threat.
China collects information about Taiwan's military largely through ships usually disguised as fishing vessels, an intelligence source said.
"For the Chinese military, ships are the most reliable means for spying on Taiwan. They seldom use aircraft because aircraft can't stay in one spot for a long period of time like ships," the source said.
In addition to drawing the interest of Taiwan's neighbors, the June 20 tests also gained notice from others in the international community, as they were the first tests of their kind outside the US. The missile tests also attracted a great deal of publicity because they were conducted with the assistance of technicians from the US.
"Without the assistance from US technicians, the missile tests may not have been successful," an army official said.
The June missile demonstration was conducted by a Patriot company under the army along with technicians from the manufacturer of the Patriot system, Raytheon Co, and contract supplier Lockheed Martin.
Patriots are now deployed in three batteries in the greater Taipei area.
TPP RALLY: The clashes occurred near the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall on Saturday at a rally to mark the anniversary of a raid on former TPP chairman Ko Wen-je People who clashed with police at a Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) rally in Taipei on Saturday would be referred to prosecutors for investigation, said the Ministry of the Interior, which oversees the National Police Agency. Taipei police had collected evidence of obstruction of public officials and coercion by “disorderly” demonstrators, as well as contraventions of the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法), the ministry said in a statement on Sunday. It added that amid the “severe pushing and jostling” by some demonstrators, eight police officers were injured, including one who was sent to hospital after losing consciousness, allegedly due to heat stroke. The Taipei
NO LIVERPOOL TRIP: Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting, who won a gold medal in the boxing at the Paris Olympics, was embroiled in controversy about her gender at that event Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu-ting (林郁婷) will not attend this year’s World Boxing Championships in Liverpool, England, due to a lack of response regarding her sex tests from the organizer, World Boxing. The national boxing association on Monday said that it had submitted all required tests to World Boxing, but had not received a response as of Monday, the departure day for the championships. It said the decision for Lin to skip the championships was made to protect its athletes, ensuring they would not travel to the UK without a guarantee of participation. Lin, who won a gold medal in the women’s 57kg boxing
‘NOT ALONE’: A Taiwan Strait war would disrupt global trade routes, and could spark a worldwide crisis, so a powerful US presence is needed as a deterrence, a US senator said US Senator Deb Fischer on Thursday urged her colleagues in the US Congress to deepen Washington’s cooperation with Taiwan and other Indo-Pacific partners to contain the global security threat from China. Fischer and other lawmakers recently returned from an official trip to the Indo-Pacific region, where they toured US military bases in Hawaii and Guam, and visited leaders, including President William Lai (賴清德). The trip underscored the reality that the world is undergoing turmoil, and maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific region is crucial to the security interests of the US and its partners, she said. Her visit to Taiwan demonstrated ways the
The US has revoked Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) authorization to freely ship essential gear to its main Chinese chipmaking base, potentially curtailing its production capabilities at that older-generation facility. American officials recently informed TSMC of their decision to end the Taiwanese chipmaker’s so-called validated end user (VEU) status for its Nanjing site. The action mirrors steps the US took to revoke VEU designations for China facilities owned by Samsung Electronics Co and SK Hynix Inc. The waivers are set to expire in about four months. “TSMC has received notification from the US Government that our VEU authorization for TSMC Nanjing
RSS