Taichung's Chingchuankang air base, the largest in the country, experienced a break-in Sunday night by a civilian who drove into the base without meeting any resistance from stupefied guards.
The incident has prompted a comprehensive review of security for bases around the country, the air force general headquarters said yesterday in a press release.
"A special fund will be allocated for the strengthening of base security. The Chingchuankang incident will be taken as a lesson for us," the air force said.
The incident was a shock to the air force.
The incident took place Sunday night as a man being chased by police drove into a side gate of the base, just a short distance from the main road outside. The man was driving a red van at high speed.
The two to three soldiers guarding the gate, armed with rifles and live ammunition, did nothing to stop the intruder.
The intruder was later caught by the base's rapid response team. When he was captured, he had already moved 1km into the base, not far from the living quarters for personnel.
He was identified as 28-year-old Wang Chih-hung (
Colonel Chen Ching-kuo (
"The side gate that the civilian entered by force is open from daybreak to 10pm each day for entry and exit by both military and authorized civilians, either in cars or on foot," Chen said.
"The incident happened before 10pm. Soldiers guarding the gate were checking a car as the van suddenly veered off from the main road and drove in our direction," he said.
"We did not want to blame anyone for letting the break-in happen. But we do need to strengthen our soldiers' response to such emergencies," Chen said.
Erich Shih (
"Security measures for bases of the three services are more or less the same. If a break-in could happen at an air force base, it could happen to other services," Shih said.
Shih identified a lack of training and manpower as a major factor behind the lax security.
A defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the military should make a clear distinction between security for a fixed base and that for a field one.
"It is better to guard a fixed base by special personnel armed with handguns or stun guns. A rifle will not be of too much use to fend off an intruder. Poorly trained conscripts are not fit to do the job, either. If they have to do the job, please give them more training and manpower," the official said.
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