China’s military activity in the Taiwan Strait is “not helpful” to cross-strait relations, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said yesterday while visiting military bases to observe combat drills and a newly developed tactical drone, as China protested the passage of a US Navy destroyer through the strait a day earlier.
Tsai observed a display by a mechanized infantry battalion at a base in Chiayi County, and visited the air force’s Fourth Tactical Fighter Wing, whose pilots are largely responsible for intercepting Chinese military aircraft approaching the median line of the Taiwan Strait.
“I would like to reiterate that the continuous activities of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army are not helpful to cross-strait relations, nor to the peace and stability of the region,” Tsai said.
Photo by Sam Yeh, AFP
“As we are facing the expansion of authoritarianism, we can only but strengthen the nation’s combat capabilities and toughness to secure our national security and interests,” she said.
Military training is to become more reflective of modern combat needs after recent reforms are enacted, she said.
Meanwhile, China accused the US of “publicly hyping” the passage on Thursday of the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer the USS Chung-Hoon through the Taiwan Strait.
Photo: Presidential Office via AP
“The Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army organized troops to monitor the US ship’s entire passage, and was fully cognizant of all its actions,” command spokesperson Colonel Shi Yi (施毅) said in a statement on social media.
“Chung-Hoon’s transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the United States’ commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific. The United States military flies, sails and operates anywhere international law allows,” the US’ Japan-based 7th Fleet said in a statement.
Transits by the US Navy through the Strait have become a near-monthly occurrence since 2020.
Photo: Devin Langer, US Navy, via AFP
In recent months there have either been fewer transits or the US has revealed fewer.
Tsai also observed the first-ever active combat readiness drill for a tactical close-range rotary-wing drone developed by the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology.
The exercise conducted by the 234th Mechanized Infantry Brigade simulated a raid of Chiayi Airport by invading forces, followed by a combined combat operation with infantry forces and armored battalions to repel an enemy takeover.
The drill saw the aerial vehicle in action, gathering intelligence on the simulated attack.
The 25kg helicopter drone called Capricorn can operate at an altitude of 1,500m and stay airborne for about an hour, said Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research.
The drone can withstand up to Beaufort scale 6 winds and is equipped with a dual optical lens — visible light and thermal imaging — to enhance its all-weather, day-and-night reconnaissance capabilities, Su said.
Capricorn has three built-in navigation modules to prevent the possibility of damage or interference to a single navigation system from having a severe affect on military operations, he added.
The army has ordered 50 drone packages comprising 100 aircraft at a cost of NT$780 million (US$25.4 million), Su said, adding that 28 were delivered last year, with the remainder to be delivered next year.
Military conscripts are to operate drones as part of weapons training, Tsai said.
Additional reporting by Wu Su-wei
NO-LIMITS PARTNERSHIP: ‘The bottom line’ is that if the US were to have a conflict with China or Russia it would likely open up a second front with the other, a US senator said Beijing and Moscow could cooperate in a conflict over Taiwan, the top US intelligence chief told the US Senate this week. “We see China and Russia, for the first time, exercising together in relation to Taiwan and recognizing that this is a place where China definitely wants Russia to be working with them, and we see no reason why they wouldn’t,” US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told a US Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing on Thursday. US Senator Mike Rounds asked Haines about such a potential scenario. He also asked US Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse
INSPIRING: Taiwan has been a model in the Asia-Pacific region with its democratic transition, free and fair elections and open society, the vice president-elect said Taiwan can play a leadership role in the Asia-Pacific region, vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) told a forum in Taipei yesterday, highlighting the nation’s resilience in the face of geopolitical challenges. “Not only can Taiwan help, but Taiwan can lead ... not only can Taiwan play a leadership role, but Taiwan’s leadership is important to the world,” Hsiao told the annual forum hosted by the Center for Asia-Pacific Resilience and Innovation think tank. Hsiao thanked Taiwan’s international friends for their long-term support, citing the example of US President Joe Biden last month signing into law a bill to provide aid to Taiwan,
China’s intrusive and territorial claims in the Indo-Pacific region are “illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive,” new US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo said on Friday, adding that he would continue working with allies and partners to keep the area free and open. Paparo made the remarks at a change-of-command ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, where he took over the command from Admiral John Aquilino. “Our world faces a complex problem set in the troubling actions of the People’s Republic of China [PRC] and its rapid buildup of forces. We must be ready to answer the PRC’s increasingly intrusive and
STATE OF THE NATION: The legislature should invite the president to deliver an address every year, the TPP said, adding that Lai should also have to answer legislators’ questions The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday proposed inviting president-elect William Lai (賴清德) to make a historic first state of the nation address at the legislature following his inauguration on May 20. Lai is expected to face many domestic and international challenges, and should clarify his intended policies with the public’s representatives, KMT caucus secretary-general Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) said when making the proposal at a meeting of the legislature’s Procedure Committee. The committee voted to add the item to the agenda for Friday, along with another similar proposal put forward by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). The invitation is in line with Article 15-2