China’s Fuzhou-Pingtan railway is not a military threat to Taiwan, a defense expert said on Saturday as Beijing opened a rail bridge that links Pingtan Island to Fuzhou Province.
Pingtan Island is about 130km northwest of Taiwan and the new bridge could reportedly allow train movements between China’s Fuzhou and the island in as little as 35 minutes.
Hsu Chih-hsiang (許智翔), a post-doctoral researcher at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said that the railway’s economic and political value is greater than its military potential to China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA).
Well-utilized railways could greatly benefit an army, as the Prussians demonstrated in the 1866 Austro-Prussian War, but insecure railways could become a bane to operations, as Nazi Germany discovered during its invation of Russia in 1941, he said.
The Fuzhou-Pingtan railway’s military usefulness is constrained by its proximity to Taiwan, which leaves it vulnerable to Taiwan’s weapons systems, he said.
The AGM-84H stand-off land attack missiles which Taiwan is planning to buy from the US could be launched from F-16s to a range of 270km, while the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System has an effective range of 300km, he said.
“For the PLA, Pingtan Island is not a safe area for troop assembly, logistics or firepower projection,” Hsu said. “This is why it is important for our armed forces to possess long-range firepower capable of strategic deterrence and showing them that we can reach out and touch them.”
PLA preparations to invade Taiwan would almost certainly be detected by the US and Taiwan as soon as they were begun, he said.
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
President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday thanked Palau for its continued support of Taiwan's international participation, as Taipei was once again excluded from the World Health Assembly (WHA) currently taking place in Switzerland. "Palau has never stopped voicing support for Taiwan" in the UN General Assembly, the WHO and other UN-affiliated agencies, Lai said during a bilateral meeting with visiting Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr. "We have been profoundly touched by these endorsements," Lai said, praising the Pacific island nation's firm support as "courageous." Lai's remarks came as Taiwan was excluded for the ninth consecutive year from the WHA, which is being held in
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
At least three people died and more than a dozen were injured yesterday afternoon when a vehicle struck a group of pedestrians in New Taipei City’s Sansia District (三峽). The incident happened at about 4pm when a car rammed into pedestrians at an intersection near Bei Da Elementary School. Witnesses said the sedan, being driven at a high speed, ran a red light, knocking scooters out of the way and hitting students crossing the road before careening into a median near the intersection of Guocheng and Guoguang streets. The incident resulted in three deaths and 13 injuries, including the driver, a 78-year-old man