The National Security Bureau (NSB) is to unveil a five-year plan to counter the rising threat of Chinese espionage by enhancing its intelligence-gathering technologies, a senior national security official said on Saturday.
The Cabinet has backed the plan, which entails “large-scale revamping of hardware and software associated with intelligence-gathering operations,” the official said on condition of anonymity.
The NSB is to focus on four classes: signals intelligence, satellite imagery, cyber operations and cryptology, the official said, adding that the plan includes equipment purchases and personnel recruitment.
The official refused to confirm or deny if the plan would increase the bureau’s overall budget of NT$4 billion (US$132.2 million) to at least NT$5 billion.
“The five-year plan will maintain our superiority in technology-based intelligence gathering and increase our ability to generate results,” the official said.
The plan was made in response to a 2015 resolution by the Legislative Yuan’s Foreign and National Defense Committee to counter Chinese espionage, especially hacking and other technology-based operations, he said.
“The government’s resolve will be demonstrated clearly by the NSB’s budget for the next fiscal year,” he said.
At the time, the committee had asked the NSB to step up its capabilities in ground, air, space and Internet-based espionage.
It also advised the bureau to commit to the research and development of signals intelligence capabilities independent of foreign assistance and recruit qualified personnel.
It should also plan to strengthen its cyberwarfare, intelligence gathering and other special intelligence activities over three to five years, the committee said.
The NSB has two main sources of funding: a public budget and a black budget.
This fiscal year, the public component is NT$870 million, while the black component is listed in the classified portion of the Ministry of National Defense’s annual budget under “Ting Yuan Project.”
FREEDOM OF NAVIGATION: The UK would continue to reinforce ties with Taiwan ‘in a wide range of areas’ as a part of a ‘strong unofficial relationship,’ a paper said The UK plans to conduct more freedom of navigation operations in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Lammy told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. British Member of Parliament Desmond Swayne said that the Royal Navy’s HMS Spey had passed through the Taiwan Strait “in pursuit of vital international freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.” Swayne asked Lammy whether he agreed that it was “proper and lawful” to do so, and if the UK would continue to carry out similar operations. Lammy replied “yes” to both questions. The
SECOND SPEECH: All political parties should work together to defend democracy, protect Taiwan and resist the CCP, despite their differences, the president said President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday discussed how pro-Taiwan and pro-Republic of China (ROC) groups can agree to maintain solidarity on the issue of protecting Taiwan and resisting the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The talk, delivered last night at Taoyuan’s Hakka Youth Association, was the second in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. Citing Taiwanese democracy pioneer Chiang Wei-shui’s (蔣渭水) slogan that solidarity brings strength, Lai said it was a call for political parties to find consensus amid disagreements on behalf of bettering the nation. All political parties should work together to defend democracy, protect Taiwan and resist
By refusing to agree spending increases to appease US President Donald Trump, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez threatened to derail a summit that NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte needs to run smoothly for the sake of the military alliance’s future survival. Ahead of yesterday’s gathering in The Hague, Netherlands, things were going off the rails. European officials have expressed irritation at the spoiler role that Sanchez is playing when their No. 1 task is to line up behind a pledge to raise defense spending to 5 percent of GDP. Rutte needed to keep Spain in line while preventing others such as Slovakia
SHIFT PRIORITIES: The US should first help Taiwan respond to actions China is already taking, instead of focusing too heavily on deterring a large-scale invasion, an expert said US Air Force leaders on Thursday voiced concerns about the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) missile capabilities and its development of a “kill web,” and said that the US Department of Defense’s budget request for next year prioritizes bolstering defenses in the Indo-Pacific region due to the increasing threat posed by China. US experts said that a full-scale Chinese invasion of Taiwan is risky and unlikely, with Beijing more likely to pursue coercive tactics such as political warfare or blockades to achieve its goals. Senior air force and US Space Force leaders, including US Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink and
RSS