The nation does not need a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system, but welcomes the possibility of acquiring Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II multirole jets, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday in response to speculation that the US might offer Taiwan the two systems.
Japan’s Yomiuri Shimbun on Sunday reported that the US has listed the THAAD system and F-35s in its arms sale items to Taiwan.
The proposed items are considered an attempt by the US to resume talks with Taiwan about a US$1 billion arms deal that has been put on hold.
Photo: AFP
However, the ministry yesterday said that it has not received any information from the US.
“There has been no official word from the US [about the THAAD system and F-35s], and the new US administration has yet to appoint officials on Taiwan affairs, so discussions about the arms deal have not begun,” Department of Strategic Planning Director Wu Pao-kun (吳寶琨) said during a Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee question-and-answer session.
Deputy Minister of National Defense Cheng De-mei (鄭德美) said the nation does not need a THAAD system in the short term, as the US-made phased-array radar system at Hsinchu County’s Leshan (樂山) base is on par with the THAAD system in terms of detection capability.
However, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) asked if the ministry would cooperate with the US if Taiwan was asked to deploy a THAAD system because of geopolitical concerns, to which Cheng said the ministry would evaluate the necessity should such an request be made.
Cheng’s comments were in slight contrast with Minister of National Defense Feng Shih-kuan’s (馮世寬) last month, as Feng said he firmly opposed the deployment of a THAAD system, because Taiwan should distance itself from the antagonism between China and the US, and that Taiwan should defend itself instead of becoming involved in other nations’ interests.
Meanwhile, fighter jets capable of short or vertical takeoff and landing, such as F-35s, are needed for war scenarios, Wu added.
New Power Party Legislator Freddy Lim (林昶佐) asked if the ministry would voluntarily reduce arms acquisitions to appease Beijing.
Cheng said the military has been developing the defense industry to reduce its reliance on arms imports and the influence of other nations.
Lim urged the ministry to procure whatever is necessary to ensure the nation’s defense capabilities, which could not be compromised due to China’s pressure.
“It is precisely because of the fear of China’s [potential military invasion] that Taiwan should build up its military and the defense capabilities cannot be compromised because of China’s opposition to arms sales,” Lim said.
A year-long renovation of Taipei’s Bangka Park (艋舺公園) began yesterday, as city workers fenced off the site and cleared out belongings left by homeless residents who had been living there. Despite protests from displaced residents, a city official defended the government’s relocation efforts, saying transitional housing has been offered. The renovation of the park in Taipei’s Wanhua District (萬華), near Longshan Temple (龍山寺), began at 9am yesterday, as about 20 homeless people packed their belongings and left after being asked to move by city personnel. Among them was a 90-year-old woman surnamed Wang (王), who last week said that she had no plans
TO BE APPEALED: The environment ministry said coal reduction goals had to be reached within two months, which was against the principle of legitimate expectation The Taipei High Administrative Court on Thursday ruled in favor of the Taichung Environmental Protection Bureau in its administrative litigation against the Ministry of Environment for the rescission of a NT$18 million fine (US$609,570) imposed by the bureau on the Taichung Power Plant in 2019 for alleged excess coal power generation. The bureau in November 2019 revised what it said was a “slip of the pen” in the text of the operating permit granted to the plant — which is run by Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) — in October 2017. The permit originally read: “reduce coal use by 40 percent from Jan.
China might accelerate its strategic actions toward Taiwan, the South China Sea and across the first island chain, after the US officially entered a military conflict with Iran, as Beijing would perceive Washington as incapable of fighting a two-front war, a military expert said yesterday. The US’ ongoing conflict with Iran is not merely an act of retaliation or a “delaying tactic,” but a strategic military campaign aimed at dismantling Tehran’s nuclear capabilities and reshaping the regional order in the Middle East, said National Defense University distinguished adjunct lecturer Holmes Liao (廖宏祥), former McDonnell Douglas Aerospace representative in Taiwan. If
‘SPEY’ REACTION: Beijing said its Eastern Theater Command ‘organized troops to monitor and guard the entire process’ of a Taiwan Strait transit China sent 74 warplanes toward Taiwan between late Thursday and early yesterday, 61 of which crossed the median line in the Taiwan Strait. It was not clear why so many planes were scrambled, said the Ministry of National Defense, which tabulated the flights. The aircraft were sent in two separate tranches, the ministry said. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday “confirmed and welcomed” a transit by the British Royal Navy’s HMS Spey, a River-class offshore patrol vessel, through the Taiwan Strait a day earlier. The ship’s transit “once again [reaffirmed the Strait’s] status as international waters,” the foreign ministry said. “Such transits by
RSS