The military yesterday carried out a nationwide air defense exercise to test its air warfare capabilities and military response time, following two training missions conducted by the Chinese air force involving aircraft circling Taiwanese airspace.
The routine exercise, code-named Lien Hsiang (聯翔), was held from 6am to 8am.
The navy deployed destroyers and frigates and the army mobilized missile defense units to conduct a joint anti-aircraft drill, while the air force sent up F-16 jets to act as an opposing force to test the air defense capabilities of the armed forces, media reports said.
Photo: CNA
Two F-16s based in Hualien, reportedly fitted with two fuel tanks to increase flight duration and range, were scrambled to conduct intercept training.
However, the Ministry of National Defense refused to comment on the reported operations or reveal what troops and weapons were deployed in the drill, saying only that different branches of the armed forces across the nation were activated.
The exercise had long been planned for yesterday as part of the military’s annual training schedule, and the operation was not related to recent Chinese military activities around Taiwanese airspace, Minister of National Defense Feng Shih-kuan (馮世寬) said during a budget review at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign and National Defense Committee.
Photo: Yu Tai-lang, Taipei Times
“The exercise is held once every season. The timing is purely coincidental and the drills do not have a specific target,” he said.
Chinese military aircraft flew over the Miyako Strait near Japan’s Okinawa Prefecture and circled outside Taiwan’s air defense identification zone twice in the past three weeks.
“The exercise was designed to familiarize the troops with combat skills. It was also aimed at reassuring the public that the military is combat ready and that fighter jets are engaged in ongoing exercises throughout the year,” he said.
Ministry spokesman Major General Chen Chung-chi (陳中吉) said the seasonal exercise was planned months earlier and China showed no apparent reaction to the routine exercise.
Chen said the Executive Yuan has measures in place to tap a reserve fund for military purposes in response to a remark by US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for East Asia Abraham Denmark that Taiwan’s defense budget is disproportionate to the military threat the nation is facing.
Meanwhile, Coast Guard Administration Director-General Lee Chung-wei (李仲威) said it is “possible” that Chinese navy ships might cruise around Taiwan’s maritime zones following the two training missions by the Chinese air force.
In the event of Chinese naval vessels entering waters within 12 nautical miles (22km) of Taiwan’s maritime territory, the agency would ensure public security in this area, and if a hostile situation arises, relevant mission adjustments would be made, Lee said during a budget review at a meeting of the the legislature’s Internal Administration Committee.
In a wartime scenario, the coast guard would be under the command of the defense ministry and would undertake missions under its direction, Lee said.
Taiwan is projected to lose a working-age population of about 6.67 million people in two waves of retirement in the coming years, as the nation confronts accelerating demographic decline and a shortage of younger workers to take their place, the Ministry of the Interior said. Taiwan experienced its largest baby boom between 1958 and 1966, when the population grew by 3.78 million, followed by a second surge of 2.89 million between 1976 and 1982, ministry data showed. In 2023, the first of those baby boom generations — those born in the late 1950s and early 1960s — began to enter retirement, triggering
ECONOMIC BOOST: Should the more than 23 million people eligible for the NT$10,000 handouts spend them the same way as in 2023, GDP could rise 0.5 percent, an official said Universal cash handouts of NT$10,000 (US$330) are to be disbursed late next month at the earliest — including to permanent residents and foreign residents married to Taiwanese — pending legislative approval, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. The Executive Yuan yesterday approved the Special Act for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience in Response to International Circumstances (因應國際情勢強化經濟社會及民生國安韌性特別條例). The NT$550 billion special budget includes NT$236 billion for the cash handouts, plus an additional NT$20 billion set aside as reserve funds, expected to be used to support industries. Handouts might begin one month after the bill is promulgated and would be completed within
The National Development Council (NDC) yesterday unveiled details of new regulations that ease restrictions on foreigners working or living in Taiwan, as part of a bid to attract skilled workers from abroad. The regulations, which could go into effect in the first quarter of next year, stem from amendments to the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals (外國專業人才延攬及僱用法) passed by lawmakers on Aug. 29. Students categorized as “overseas compatriots” would be allowed to stay and work in Taiwan in the two years after their graduation without obtaining additional permits, doing away with the evaluation process that is currently required,
IMPORTANT BACKER: China seeks to expel US influence from the Indo-Pacific region and supplant Washington as the global leader, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng said China is preparing for war to seize Taiwan, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said in Washington on Friday, warning that Taiwan’s fall would trigger a regional “domino effect” endangering US security. In a speech titled “Maintaining the Peaceful and Stable Status Quo Across the Taiwan Strait is in Line with the Shared Interests of Taiwan and the United States,” Chiu said Taiwan’s strategic importance is “closely tied” to US interests. Geopolitically, Taiwan sits in a “core position” in the first island chain — an arc stretching from Japan, through Taiwan and the Philippines, to Borneo, which is shared by
RSS