PFP Legislator Nelson Ku (
"The report fails to emphasize China's anti-satellite capabilities. China has weapons that are capable of knocking out satellites," Ku said.
"It does not mention the fact that China's long-range ballistic missiles capable of reaching US territory could increase to 100 in number by 2020," he said.
"Also absent from the report is a fact that the US military might not be willing to acknowledge -- the US military is not able to track the Kilo-class submarines that China bought from Russia, even using its best nuclear submarines," he said.
Ku made the remarks yesterday at a meeting the PFP held at the legislature. In addition to PFP lawmakers, defense officials, led by Deputy Defense Minister for Administrative Affairs Kang Ning-hsiang (
Ku said he believes the Pentagon report has two versions -- one for public consumption and another that is classified.
"The classified version should exist given that a US Congressman was recently quoted by a local newspaper as saying that the report the Pentagon made public is not the same as another report with the same name that he had access to in May," Ku said.
"Some important parts of the classified version of the report are apparently missing from the one made public," he said.
Ku said the report the Pentagon made public contains little new information about China's military, adding to speculation a classified report exists.
Retired Lieutenant-General Shuai Hua-ming (帥化民), who attended the meeting his in capacity as a military analyst, offered his interpretation of the report.
"A hidden message in the report is that the US is not likely to intervene in the event of war between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait," Shuai said.
"The report suggests this as it highlights China's new strategy of using surprise attacks to solve the Taiwan problem over the course of a few weeks. The US will not be able to make any response in just a few weeks," he said.
Shuai said that even if the US wanted to intervene, it would take 137 days for its rapid-reaction forces to reach Taiwan.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Many Japanese couples are coming to Taiwan to obtain donated sperm or eggs for fertility treatment due to conservatism in their home country, Taiwan’s high standards and low costs, doctors said. One in every six couples in Japan is receiving infertility treatment, Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare data show. About 70,000 children are born in Japan every year through in vitro fertilization (IVF), or about one in every 11 children born. Few people accept donated reproductive cells in Japan due to a lack of clear regulations, leaving treatment in a “gray zone,” Taichung Nuwa Fertility Center medical director Wang Huai-ling (王懷麟)
A pro-Russia hacker group has launched a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack on the Taiwanese government in retaliation for President William Lai’s (賴清德) comments suggesting that China should have a territorial dispute with Russia, an information security company said today. The hacker group, NoName057, recently launched an HTTPs flood attack called “DDoSia” targeting Taiwanese government and financial units, Radware told the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times). Local tax bureaus in New Taipei City, Keelung, Hsinchu and Taoyuan were mentioned by the hackers. Only the Hsinchu Local Tax Bureau site appeared to be down earlier in the day, but was back
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