The Ministry of National Defense yesterday denied that there were mass dismissals after reportedly classified images of a top-secret radar system were leaked to the military’s own Youth Daily News.
The online article published on March 26 — which has since been taken down — reported on the Navy 151st Amphibious Fleet’s mission to resupply Magong City (馬公) in Penghu County, and was purportedly written by a political warfare officer serving on the tank landing ship ROCNS Chung Ho.
While the article itself did not contain sensitive information, highly classified aspects of a mobile anti-stealth passive radar system designed by the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology were visible in two images used for the report.
Screen grab from the Youth Daily News Web site
First deployed in 2018, the radar system is reportedly capable of detecting the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) much-vaunted J-20 stealth fighter.
The images were republished on Monday last week by the English-language military aviation Web site Alert5 in an article titled “Taiwan Has Deployed Anti-Stealth Passive Radar System in Penghu.”
The Chinese-language Apple Daily reported that the ministry was unaware of the breach until US officials contacted Taipei via national security channels, while the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) said that some of the officials were with the American Institute in Taiwan.
The misstep angered Minister of National Defense Chiu Kuo-cheng (邱國正), the Apple Daily added.
Yesterday, Chiu had disciplinary investigations opened on as many as 100 officers of the Naval Fleet Command and the Political Warfare Bureau, which runs the Youth Daily News, the Apple Daily said, citing an anonymous source reported to be a general officer at the ministry.
More than 20 officers could receive reprimands or other disciplinary actions over the secrecy breach, it quoted the source as saying.
“An earthquake is coming to the ministry,” the source added.
“Operational security is a basic component of a soldier’s duty and the command has consistently demanded that each soldier be intimately familiar with operational security procedures and thoroughly implement them,” the Navy Command said in a statement.
An image of a mobile passive bistatic radar system was displayed at the 2013 Taipei Aerospace and Defense Technology Exhibition.
The display text provided by the institute said that the vehicle’s beamforming capabilities could act in combination with active radar or sources to detect aerial targets.
The long-distance system’s receivers use a different angle than active radar to detect a target and the absence of radar emissions helps it to evade countermeasures, the text said.
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
RSS