Taiwan maintains “real-time” intelligence sharing with the Five Eyes alliance of the US, the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, National Security Bureau (NSB) Director-General Tsai Ming-yen (蔡明彥) said yesterday.
Tsai made the remark during a legislative session in Taipei after a lawmaker asked if Taiwan had such exchanges with the group.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Charles Chen (陳以信) said he had discovered that the NSB had been upgrading its computer equipment last year and this year “to the level of those used by intelligence units in foreign countries.”
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
Chen asked Tsai if the upgrades could help Taiwan better connect to the Five Eyes.
The bureau had allocated funds to establish an “instant online reporting and communication mechanism” with foreign nations, Tsai said.
Chen asked if the upgrade would enable the bureau to share and receive intelligence from the Five Eyes alliance.
Tsai said that the NSB would do so via “a secure and encrypted system.”
Chen asked if the bureau was already sharing intelligence with the Five Eyes, to which Tsai said: “Yes, and in real time,” without elaborating.
Tsai reported to lawmakers what measures the bureau was taking to prepare for next year’s presidential and legislative elections, including its efforts to counter anticipated efforts by China to interfere in the vote.
Asked whether the NSB has a response to China’s attempts to expand its sphere of influence abroad, Tsai said that if a case arises that is strong enough to be prosecuted, it would be handled by the appropriate agency.
However, China’s tactics differ in Taiwan from other places such as the US and Europe, he added.
Beijing has allegedly established secret overseas “police stations” that US and other nations believe are tasked with collecting information on people who criticize the Chinese Communist Party.
Beijing denies the allegations.
Cases of Taiwanese being detained in China have also come to light recently, including reporters filming Chinese People’s Liberation Army exercises earlier this month and Gusa Press (八旗文化) editor-in-chief Li Yanhe (李延賀), also known ask Fucha (富察), who was detained in Shanghai last month.
Lawmakers also expressed concern that Beijing has stepped up its monitoring of and threats toward Chinese living in Taiwan.
Beijing would not dare set up one of its “police stations” in Taiwan, but it could work through third parties to monitor or manipulate Chinese and their partners, as well as Taiwanese with businesses in China, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lo Chih-cheng (羅致政) said.
Tsai said there is no doubt that this is happening, but the bureau can only keep close watch for any contraventions of the law.
If any are found, it would transfer the case to prosecutors, he said, adding that there are some cases being investigated.
The bureau’s role is to collect and share intelligence with other agencies about potential Chinese interference, he said.
This is different from how China operates in other countries, where it can set up physical workstations or travel agencies, he added.
NEXT GENERATION: The four plants in the Central Taiwan Science Park, designated Fab 25, would consist of four 1.4-nanometer wafer manufacturing plants, TSMC said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) plans to begin construction of four new plants later this year, with the aim to officially launch production of 2-nanometer semiconductor wafers by late 2028, Central Taiwan Science Park Bureau director-general Hsu Maw-shin (許茂新) said. Hsu made the announcement at an event on Friday evening celebrating the Central Taiwan Science Park’s 22nd anniversary. The second phase of the park’s expansion would commence with the initial construction of water detention ponds and other structures aimed at soil and water conservation, Hsu said. TSMC has officially leased the land, with the Central Taiwan Science Park having handed over the
The Philippines is working behind the scenes to enhance its defensive cooperation with Taiwan, the Washington Post said in a report published on Monday. “It would be hiding from the obvious to say that Taiwan’s security will not affect us,” Philippine Secretary of National Defense Gilbert Teodoro Jr told the paper in an interview on Thursday last week. Although there has been no formal change to the Philippines’ diplomatic stance on recognizing Taiwan, Manila is increasingly concerned about Chinese encroachment in the South China Sea, the report said. The number of Chinese vessels in the seas around the Philippines, as well as Chinese
AUKUS: The Australian Ambassador to the US said his country is working with the Pentagon and he is confident that submarine issues will be resolved Australian Ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd on Friday said that if Taiwan were to fall to China’s occupation, it would unleash China’s military capacities and capabilities more broadly. He also said his country is working with the Pentagon on the US Department of Defense’s review of the AUKUS submarine project and is confident that all issues raised will be resolved. Rudd, who served as Australian prime minister from 2007 to 2010 and for three months in 2013, made the remarks at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado and stressed the longstanding US-Australia alliance and his close relationship with the US Undersecretary
‘WORLD WAR III’: Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene said the aid would inflame tensions, but her amendment was rejected 421 votes against six The US House of Representatives on Friday passed the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for fiscal 2026, which includes US$500 million for Taiwan. The bill, which totals US$831.5 billion in discretionary spending, passed in a 221-209 vote. According to the bill, the funds for Taiwan would be administered by the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency and would remain available through Sept. 30, 2027, for the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative. The legislation authorizes the US Secretary of Defense, with the agreement of the US Secretary of State, to use the funds to assist Taiwan in procuring defense articles and services, and military training. Republican Representative
RSS