The US Navy regularly conducts global war games to develop deterrence strategies against a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, aimed at making the nation “a very difficult target to take,” US Acting Chief of Naval Operations James Kilby said on Wednesday.
Testifying before the US House of Representatives Armed Services Committee, Kilby said the navy has studied the issue extensively, including routine simulations at the Naval War College.
The navy is focused on five key areas: long-range strike capabilities; countering China’s command, control, communications, computers, cyber, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and targeting; terminal ship defense; contested logistics; and nontraditional maritime denial tactics, Kilby said.
Photo: Huang Cheng-chia, Taipei Times
The navy is investing in and experimenting with new technologies in these areas, Kilby said, adding that he recently met with Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo and Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Stephen Koehler in San Diego to accelerate deployment.
Asked whether a US$13 billion aircraft carrier or uncrewed systems would be more useful for Taiwan’s defense, Kilby said he would prefer deploying drones in Taiwan.
“It’s a hard question to answer without qualifying questions, but if I could put those drones on Taiwan, I’d put them on Taiwan,” he said.
Photo: Huang Cheng-chia, Taipei Times
Also at the hearing, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth faced pressure from US Representative Don Bacon, who called for faster arms deliveries to Taiwan, citing the urgent need for sea mines and other defense systems.
The Pentagon is no longer just reviewing the matter, but taking active steps, Hegseth said.
He acknowledged that while previous administrations have pledged to shift focus to the Indo-Pacific region, “the department had not put in place” those changes.
In related news, President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday visited a National Police Agency counterterrorism training center in Taoyuan’s Sinwu District (新屋).
Lai praised the agency’s Special Operations Group after watching a team of students go through drills and inspecting their weapons and equipment.
A new 75m indoor shooting range would be added to the center and is expected to be completed by the end of the year, the agency said.
Nearly 60 members of the Special Operations Group conducted two assault training drills, including breaching a door with a BearCat G2 armored vehicle and a hostage rescue drill that included a simulated helicopter rappel.
The hostage rescue drill also involved the use of stun grenades to neutralize “kidnappers.”
The Special Operations Group is an elite, important unit, Lai said.
In addition to counterterrorism operations, the unit carries out high-risk operations in major criminal cases and specialized missions such as countersabotage and anti-hijackings, he said.
No one hopes for such incidents to occur, but the more proactive training is, the more people would feel secure and the more capable the nation could be in responding to challenges, Lai said.
SILENCING CRITICS: In addition to blocking Taiwan, China aimed to prevent rights activists from speaking out against authoritarian states, a Cabinet department said The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday condemned transnational repression by Beijing after RightsCon, a major digital human rights conference scheduled to be held in Zambia this week, was abruptly canceled due to Chinese pressure over Taiwanese participation. This year’s RightsCon, the world’s largest conference discussing issues “at the intersection of human rights and technology,” was scheduled to take place from tomorrow to Friday in Lusaka, and expected to draw 2,600 in-person attendees from 150 countries, along with 1,100 online participants. However, organizers were forced to cancel the event due to behind-the-scenes pressure from China, the ministry said, expressing its “strongest condemnation”
Taiwan’s economy grew far faster than expected in the first quarter, as booming demand for artificial intelligence (AI) applications drove a surge in exports, spilling over into investment and consumption, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said yesterday. GDP growth was 13.69 percent year-on-year during the January-to-March period, beating the DGBAS’ February forecast by 2.23 percentage points and marking the most robust growth in nearly four decades, DGBAS senior official Chiang Hsin-yi (江心怡) told a news conference in Taipei. The result was powered by exports, which remain the backbone of Taiwan’s economy, Chiang said. Outbound shipments jumped 51.12 percent year-on-year to
DELAYED BUT DETERMINED: The president’s visit highlights Taiwan’s right to international engagement amid regional pressure from China President Willaim Lai (賴清德) yesterday arrived in Eswatini, more than a week after his planned visit to Taiwan’s sole African ally was suspended because of revoked overflight permits. “The visit, originally scheduled for April 22, was postponed due to unforeseen external factors,” Lai wrote on social media. “After several days of careful arrangements by our diplomatic and national security teams, we successfully arrived today.” Lai said he looked forward to further deepening Taiwan-Eswatini relations through closer cooperation in the economy, agriculture, culture and education, as well as advancing the nation’s international partnerships. The president was initially scheduled to arrive in time to celebrate
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp (IRGC) yesterday said the US faced a choice between an “impossible” military operation or a “bad deal” with Tehran, after US President Donald Trump disparaged Iran’s latest peace proposal. Negotiations between the two countries have been deadlocked since a ceasefire came into effect on April 8, with only one round of direct peace talks held so far. Iran’s Tasnim and Fars news agencies reported that Tehran had submitted a 14-point proposal to mediator Pakistan, but Trump was quick to cast doubt on it. “I will soon be reviewing the plan that Iran has just sent to us, but
RSS