The US military has continually rejected Taipei’s request to conduct live-fire testing of the PAC-3 missile system in Taiwan on the grounds that they might give China an opportunity to gather critical data on the system, the Ministry of National Defense said in its 2014 budget report, which was recently sent to the Legislative Yuan for review.
The Legislative Yuan had decided when reviewing this year’s budget that the ministry should make plans for the live-fire testing of both the Patriot missile system and the SM-1 surface-to-air missile both within and outside the nation’s borders.
Senior military officials said in the report that the US military’s rejection of the ministry’s requests was not only due to international political concerns, but also the worry that China would be able to obtain digital data on the system’s performance.
If that happens, it could pose a serious breach to the security of the US’ missile defense network across Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, the officials said.
Nonetheless, the ministry would continue its efforts to get the green light from the US on live-fire weapons system testing in Taiwan.
Despite the US military’s offer to give the ministry all the statistics on the weapons system’s live-fire testing in the US and enable the ministry to simulate training, the officials said that it was not the same.
“The environment here in Taiwan is different from that in the US. It is better to have first-hand experience and data by conducting live-fire exercises in Taiwan,” the officials said.
Meanwhile, the ministry also said that it has started planning for the live firing of the RIM-66 missile, which would be carried out on Sept. 23 and Sept. 24 east of Taiwan by the Navy.
Given the SM-1’s range of 74km to 170km, Japan has expressed concern that the firing radius would encircle the northern, western and southern border of Yonaguni, one of the Yaeyama Islands.
PROCEDURE: Although there is already a cross-strait agreement in place for the extradition of criminals, ample notice is meant to be given to the other side first Ten Taiwanese who were involved in fraud-related crimes in China were extradited back to Taiwan via Kinmen County on Wednesday, four of whom are convicted fraudsters in Taiwan. The 10 people arrived via a ferry operating between Xiamen and Kinmen, also known as the “small three links.” The Kinmen County Prosecutors’ Office yesterday said that four of the 10 extradited people were convicted in Taiwan for committing fraud and contravening the Money Laundering Control Act (洗錢防制法), and were on the wanted list. They were immediately arrested upon arrival and sent to Kinmen Prison to serve their sentences following brief questioning, the office said.
A small number of Taiwanese this year lost their citizenship rights after traveling in China and obtaining a one-time Chinese passport to cross the border into Russia, a source said today. The people signed up through Chinese travel agencies for tours of neighboring Russia with companies claiming they could obtain Russian visas and fast-track border clearance, the source said on condition of anonymity. The travelers were actually issued one-time-use Chinese passports, they said. Taiwanese are prohibited from holding a Chinese passport or household registration. If found to have a Chinese ID, they may lose their resident status under Article 9-1
‘REGRETTABLE’: Travelers reported that Seoul’s online arrival card system lists Taiwan as ‘China (Taiwan),’ the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday urged South Korea to correct the way Taiwan is listed in its newly launched e-Arrival card system, saying the current designation downgrades the nation’s status. South Korea rolled out the online system on Feb. 24 to gradually replace paper arrival cards, which it plans to phase out by next year. Travelers must complete the electronic form up to 72 hours before entering the country. The ministry said it has received multiple complaints from Taiwanese travelers saying that the system lists Taiwan as “China (Taiwan)” in dropdown menus for both “place of departure” and “next
VIGILANT: Enterovirus activity remains in the epidemic phase, with the CDC urging caregivers of infected children to be on the lookout for signs of severe illness Influenza activity is rising in neighboring countries, and, with temperatures forecast to drop this week, flu cases are expected to increase in the next two weeks, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. Hospitals reported 87,162 visits for flu-like illnesses between Nov. 23 and Saturday, which remained about the same level as the previous week, but nine deaths and 24 cases with serious flu complications were also confirmed last week, CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) said. Flu activity reached a peak in late September before declining for eight consecutive weeks, CDC Deputy Director-General and spokesman Lin Min-cheng (林明誠)
RSS