The US has helped conduct a computer-simulated war-game that pitted Taiwan's military against invading Chinese forces, officials said yesterday.
About 60 US military experts and officers monitored the six-day exercise as part of the close military cooperation between the US and Taiwan, Minister of National Defense Lee Jye (
Lee didn't give details of the exercise, which ended Saturday.
According to a local newspaper, however, the game involved a Chinese missile attack while Taiwanese F-16 fighter jets fired US-made AIM-120 mid-range missiles at Chinese Su-30s.
The newspaper report added that the Americans trained Taiwanese officers to use the US-designed computer system in preparation for a joint US-Taiwan simulated war game next year.
This will be the first of its kind involving US troops in a simulated cross-strait conflict.
Beijing did not immediately respond to the latest exercise.
Meanwhile, Vice Minister of National Defense Tsai Ming-hsien (
"Peace in the Asian-Pacific region is not a matter of concern to Taiwan and the United States only," Tsai said. "Japan and other Asian countries are also concerned."
In related news, the military will hold annual exercises in August to test combat readiness in the face of what Lee said yesterday was a significantly higher likelihood China would use force to invade the country.
"The likelihood of using force against us has increased significantly," Lee, who took office last month, told reporters.
"In recent years, communist China has injected a large sum of money into its defense budget and is rapidly expanding its military," Lee said.
"It is likely to become a regional hegemon," he added.
The US has said China acquired more sophisticated missiles, satellite-disrupting lasers and underground facilities in an aggressive military build-up last year aimed at winning a possible conflict with Taiwan.
Lee called for support for an US$18 billion special budget to buy Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) anti-missile systems, submarines and anti-submarine aircraft.
He said he would resign if an arms package offered by US President George W. Bush in 2001 was rejected by the legislature.
Lee also said the air force will practice emergency landing on a freeway for the first time in 25 years.
The scenario of the drill is that Taiwan's airports may be destroyed should war break out with China, and that freeways may have to be used for emergency landings.
Lee said the drills would take place between late July and early August.
Several kilometers of the freeway have been repaired and a section will be shut down for half a day, defense ministry sources said.
Chief of the General Staff General Li Tien-yu (
RESOLUTIONS DEBATE: Taiwan’s allies said that UN and WHA resolutions cited by China and other nations ‘do not determine Taiwan’s participation in WHO activities’ A proposal to invite Taiwan to this year’s World Health Assembly (WHA) was rejected on Monday, resulting in Taipei’s absence from the annual meeting for a ninth consecutive year, although partners spoke up for Taiwan’s participation at the first day of the meeting. The first agenda item after the opening was a “two-on-two debate” on a proposal to invite Taiwan to participate at the WHA as an observer. Similar to previous years, two countries made statements in favor of the proposal, while two others expressed their opposition. Philippine Secretary of Health Teodoro Herbosa, president of the 78th WHA, accepted the WHA General Committee’s
Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr arrived in Taiwan last night to kick off his first visit to the country since beginning his second term earlier this year. After arriving at Taoyuan International Airport at around 6:30 pm, Whipps and his delegation were welcomed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍). Speaking to gathered media, the Palauan leader said he was excited and honored to be back in Taiwan on his first state visit to Taiwan since he was sworn in this January. Among those traveling with Whipps is Minister of State Gustav N. Aitaro, Public Infrastructure
Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) on Friday laid out the Cabinet’s updated policy agenda and recapped the government’s achievements ahead of the one-year anniversary of President William Lai’s (賴清德) inauguration. Cho said the government had made progress across a range of areas, including rebuilding Hualien, cracking down on fraud, improving pedestrian safety and promoting economic growth. “I hope the public will not have the impression that the Cabinet only asked the legislature to reconsider a bunch of legal amendments,” Cho said, calling the moves “necessary” to protect constitutional governance and the public’s interest. The Cabinet would work toward achieving its “1+7” plan, he said. The
Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) hosted a dinner in Taipei last night with key Taiwanese suppliers to celebrate the successful mass production of the company’s new Blackwell AI systems. Speaking to the media earlier yesterday, Huang thanked Nvidia’s Taiwanese partners for their contributions to the company’s ecosystem, while also sharing his plans to meet with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) founder Morris Chang (張忠謀). In response to rumors that Nvidia will launch a downgraded Hopper H20 chip for China in July, Huang dismissed the reports, saying, “That is not true.” He clarified that there
RSS