The Ministry of National Defense is reportedly considering using a portion of Provincial Highway No. 9 in Taitung County as an emergency runway, following calls last month for a contingency landing strip better protected from Chinese missiles.
The highway is undergoing a years-long improvement plan that includes a new extension skirting the edge of Guanshan Township (關山), fueling rumors that the ministry intends to use it as the nation’s sixth emergency runway, the only one that would be on the east coast.
Minister of Transportation and Communications Wang Kwo-tsai (王國材) yesterday confirmed that the defense ministry wants a contingency runway to be built on the east coast, promising full cooperation regarding its ultimate decision.
Photo courtesy of the Freeway Bureau
The original feasibility study for the highway improvement project did not account for use as a runway, which would require a wider road, Directorate-General of Highways Director-General Hsu Cheng-chang (許鉦漳) said.
The defense ministry has been asked to finalize the plan so that the ministries can work together on preparations, he added.
A defense official speaking on condition of anonymity did not deny the plan, but said that many steps would still need to be taken before it could be confirmed.
The existing stretch of Highway No. 9 that runs through Guanshan is only 15m wide, but cannot be easily widened without expropriating and demolishing private buildings.
Transportation officials therefore decided to build a new 30m-wide stretch of road around the town, although a military runway would have to be even wider.
Work on the highway improvement project covering a total of 45.8km is scheduled to be completed in 2027.
The only other provincial highway used as a contingency landing strip is Provincial Highway No. 1 in Pingtung County’s Jiadong Township (佳冬), where fighter jets practiced landing during the annual Han Kuang exercises last month.
Additional reporting by Aaron Tu
LONG FLIGHT: The jets would be flown by US pilots, with Taiwanese copilots in the two-seat F-16D variant to help familiarize them with the aircraft, the source said The US is expected to fly 10 Lockheed Martin F-16C/D Block 70/72 jets to Taiwan over the coming months to fulfill a long-awaited order of 66 aircraft, a defense official said yesterday. Word that the first batch of the jets would be delivered soon was welcome news to Taiwan, which has become concerned about delays in the delivery of US arms amid rising military tensions with China. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said the initial tranche of the nation’s F-16s are rolling off assembly lines in the US and would be flown under their own power to Taiwan by way
OBJECTS AT SEA: Satellites with synthetic-aperture radar could aid in the detection of small Chinese boats attempting to illegally enter Taiwan, the space agency head said Taiwan aims to send the nation’s first low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite into space in 2027, while the first Formosat-8 and Formosat-9 spacecraft are to be launched in October and 2028 respectively, the National Science and Technology Council said yesterday. The council laid out its space development plan in a report reviewed by members of the legislature’s Education and Culture Committee. Six LEO satellites would be produced in the initial phase, with the first one, the B5G-1A, scheduled to be launched in 2027, the council said in the report. Regarding the second satellite, the B5G-1B, the government plans to work with private contractors
‘NARWHAL’: The indigenous submarine completed its harbor acceptance test recently and is now under heavy guard as it undergoes tests in open waters, a source said The Hai Kun (海鯤), the nation’s first indigenous defense submarine, yesterday began sea trials, sailing out of the Port of Kaohsiung, a military source said. Also known as the “Narwhal,” the vessel departed from CSBC Corp, Taiwan’s (台灣國際造船) shipyard at about 8am, where it had been docked. More than 10 technicians and military personnel were on deck, with several others standing atop the sail. After recently completing its harbor acceptance test, the vessel has started a series of sea-based trials, including tests of its propulsion and navigational systems, while partially surfaced, the source said. The Hai Kun underwent tests in the port from
New Taipei City prosecutors yesterday indicted nine entertainers over their alleged connection to a fraud ring that produces falsified documents to help people evade military service, including actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and show host William Liao (廖威廉). Twenty-eight people were charged with contravening the Punishment for Violation of Military Service System Act (妨害兵役治罪條例) and Article 214 of the Criminal Code for “causing a public official to make a false entry in a public document.” Prosecutors alleged the fraud ring was ran by a man, Chen Chih-ming (陳志明), and his three assistants, and that they were paid to help people dodge compulsory
RSS