Taipei and Washington have signed an agreement to share information on scientific research that would allow representatives of Taiwan’s research institutions, including the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology and the Ministry of National Defense’s Armaments Bureau, to visit national defense research institutions and laboratories in the US next year, an unnamed senior military official said yesterday.
Such US facilities have never been open to Taiwanese researchers, the official said, adding that the deal would greatly benefit Taiwan’s self-defense capabilities, including the domestic production of military vessels and aircraft.
Cooperation with the US is expected to shorten the institute’s development and production time and could provide a breakthrough, as well as reduce the time needed for ongoing enhancement programs for the Tien Kung (“Sky Bow”) surface-to-air missile, the Tien Chien (“Sky Sword”) air-to-air missile and the Hsiung Feng (“Brave Wind”) anti-ship missile systems, the source said.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
It could also help the institute cut costs, the official said, adding that the benefits are difficult to measure.
The official did not specify which facilities Taiwanese representatives would be allowed to visit, saying that would depend on US officials.
Taiwan’s resources are limited, as the annual defense budget is only about US$10 billion, the official said, adding that as it is difficult to compete with China in terms of quantity, Taiwan needs to focus its resources on key projects.
Photo: Yu Tai-lang, Taipei Times
Although Taiwan is confident about its technological capabilities, the US is the world leader in the arms industry, said Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇), coconvener of the Legislative Yuan’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee.
If Taiwanese and US researchers can visit each other, it would help Taiwan achieve breakthroughs in military technology, he said.
More importantly, exchanges between researchers are on a higher level than joint military exercises, Wang said, adding that they would symbolize close relations with the US.
Photo: Lo Tien-pin, Taipei Times
The passage of US legislation that is advantageous to Taiwan, including parts of the latest National Defense Authorization Act and the Taiwan Travel Act, have created opportunities to facilitate equal and mutually beneficial exchanges between Taiwan and the US, said Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lu Yu-ling (呂玉玲), the committee’s other coconvener.
However, as Taiwan is in desperate need of actual assistance from the US, mutual exchanges between military research institutions would provide a significant boost to Taiwan’s self-defense capabilities and the development of the domestic defense industry, she said.
As relations warm between North and South Korea, and North Korea and the US, Taiwan cannot become a bargaining chip in international relations, Lu said.
Aside from improving Taiwan-US relations, if Taiwan engages in further exchanges with the US military and research institutions, it could also improve the nation’s self-defense capabilities, in turn elevating its importance and position on the international stage, she said.
BLUE WAVE: The KMT’s Chiang Wan-an defeated the DPP’s Chen Shih-chung and is to become Taipei mayor, while President Tsai Ing-wen stepped down as DPP chairperson after many of the party’s candidates, handpicked by the leadership, performed poorly The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday flipped key mayoral seats in Taipei, Taoyuan and Keelung, and won control of 13 out of 22 cities and counties in the nine-in-one local elections. President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) last night resigned as Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) chairperson over a poor showing by the party’s candidates, who were handpicked by the DPP leadership rather than chosen through primaries. The Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) won its first high-profile race with Hsinchu mayoral candidate Ann Kao (高虹安) defeating Shen Hui-hung (沈慧虹) of the DPP with 45.02 percent of the vote to Shen’s 35.68 percent. Voters were choosing more than
CAUTION: Wearing a mask in crowded places and for people with chronic illnesses or allergies can help prevent COVID-19 and other infectious diseases, the CECC said The mask mandate for outdoor settings is to lifted on Thursday, and the weekly cap on international inbound travelers is to be removed on Dec. 10, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said at its regular news conference yesterday. The center also announced that starting from Friday, children aged five to 11 can receive a COVID-19 vaccine booster, and that rules for visiting hospital patients are to be partially eased from Dec. 10. While wearing a mask will no longer be mandatory outdoors, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) reminded the public that it would still be required
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE: China might impose a blockade, conduct limited force operations, use an air and missile campaign, or resort to an invasion, the report said The US Department of Defense has identified four possible military courses of action that China could take against Taiwan, but did not offer any guess on when Beijing might be ready to act. In an annual report to the US Congress released on Tuesday titled Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China 2022, the department gave a broad overview of China’s military capabilities, strategy, ambitions and intentions. The report devoted significant space to developments related to Taiwan, against which it said China had intensified diplomatic, economic, political and military pressure last year. For example, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA)
ANALYSIS: The local elections showed that the KMT is a competitive player, but needs to work at changing its image regarding China, experts said The nine-in-one local election results would bolster the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), but are unlikely to have a major effect on the 2024 presidential election, when cross-strait issues are back in focus, political commentators said. In Saturday’s elections, the KMT won 13 of the 21 cities and counties up for grabs, including four of the country’s six biggest metropolitan areas, where nearly 70 percent of the population lives. The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lost three of the seven cities and counties it held, although it gained Penghu County. Its poor results prompted President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) to announce her resignation as party
RSS