Minister of Defense Kao Kuang-chi (高廣圻) yesterday said that tension has been rising in the South China Sea amid an arms race among nations in the region, and that Taiwan’s armed forces are ready to defend its remote island outposts.
Due to a potential military threat against Taiwan’s islands in the South China Sea, Kao said programs have been underway to enhance radar installations and electronic surveillance in the region and to improve the combat capability of the nation’s coast guard units stationed on the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島) and Spratly Islands (Nansha Islands, 南沙群島).
According to a Ministry of National Defense report to the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, the ministry has mandated the Navy’s Marine Corps to train coast guard units on weapon handling, operating artillery guns and field combat drills, for those units deployed on Itu Aba Island (Taiping Island, 太平島) and other outposts in the South China Sea.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
It said that in recent years, defensive firepower on these outposts has been enhanced with the installation of Bofors 40mm guns and Taiwan’s own T-63 120mm mortar systems, which receive regular repair and maintenance checks by artillery technicians.
When asked by Democratic Progressive Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) if the ministry has deployed anti-air missile defense systems on these islands, Kao said he was not at liberty to answer.
China’s military and radar installations on Woody Island (Yongxing Island, 永興島), along with the lengthening of a runway to 3,000m might indicate that Beijing intends to declare an air defense identification zone (ADIZ) in the South China Sea, US Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert Work said on Wednesday.
National Security Bureau Deputy Director Chou Wu-mei (周伍美) said the bureau is aware of the situation and is monitoring developments in the South China Sea closely, as any unilateral declaration by China would increase tension in the region.
Chou said surveillance and intelligence gathering by the bureau and Taiwan’s armed forces indicate China has been undertaking preparations to enhance Woody Island’s basic infrastructure, and to deploy missile systems, jet fighters and other aircraft.
“However, we know that China does not yet have the military capability in the region to declare an ADIZ, therefore we believe it is unlikely China would do so in the near future,” he said.
The ministry report said China has already deployed its Red Flag-9 anti-air missiles on Woody Island — with a firing range of 200km — and is currently testing the Eagle Strike-62 anti-ship cruise missiles, that have a range of 300km.
Chou and Kao said the armed forces would assert national sovereignty claims and defend Taiwan’s islands and marine territories in the South China Sea, but they were not certain how long coast guard units could hold Itu Aba in the case of an attack.
ANOTHER EMERGES: The CWA yesterday said this year’s fourth storm of the typhoon season had formed in the South China Sea, but was not expected to affect Taiwan Tropical Storm Gaemi has intensified slightly as it heads toward Taiwan, where it is expected to affect the country in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 8am yesterday, the 120km-radius storm was 800km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving at 9kph northwest, the agency said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued tonight at the earliest, it said, adding that the storm is projected to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday. Gaemi’s potential effect on Taiwan remains unclear, as that would depend on its direction, radius and intensity, forecasters said. Former Weather Forecast
As COVID-19 cases in Japan have been increasing for 10 consecutive weeks, people should get vaccinated before visiting the nation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. The centers reported 773 hospitalizations and 124 deaths related to COVID-19 in Taiwan last week. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) on Tuesday said the number of weekly COVID-19 cases reported in Japan has been increasing since mid-May and surpassed 55,000 cases from July 8 to July 14. The average number of COVID-19 patients at Japan’s healthcare facilities that week was also 1.39 times that of the week before and KP.3 is the dominant
The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) working group for Taiwan-related policies is likely to be upgraded to a committee-level body, a report commissioned by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said. As Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is increasingly likely to upgrade the CCP’s Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs, Taiwanese authorities should prepare by researching Xi and the CCP, the report said. At the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the CCP, which ended on Thursday last week, the party set a target of 2029 for the completion of some tasks, meaning that Xi is likely preparing to
US-CHINA TRADE DISPUTE: Despite Beijing’s offer of preferential treatment, the lure of China has dimmed as Taiwanese and international investors move out Japan and the US have become the favored destinations for Taiwanese graduates as China’s attraction has waned over the years, the Ministry of Labor said. According to the ministry’s latest income and employment advisory published this month, 3,215 Taiwanese university graduates from the class of 2020 went to Japan, surpassing for the first time the 2,881 graduates who went to China. A total of 2,300 graduates from the class of 2021 went to the US, compared with the 2,262 who went to China, the document showed. The trend continued for the class of 2023, of whom 1,460 went to Japan, 1,334 went to