The US is expediting efforts to overhaul its navy and doctrine in light of growing Chinese ambitions for a “blue-water” navy, a precursor to a more obvious “arms race” between the US and China, according to an article in Taiwanese think tank the Institute for National Defense and Security Research’s National Security Journal.
A blue-water navy is a maritime force capable of operating globally.
The article, written by Chen Liang-chih (陳亮智), cited Navigation Plan 2021 presented by US Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Michael Gilday at the Surface Navy Association Symposium on Jan. 11, which stated that “our actions in this decade will set the maritime balance of power for the rest of the century.”
The US is committed to maintaining its leading position in terms of naval power and technology, which means constructing not only new generations of naval carriers, destroyers and littoral combat ships, but also expediting the development of cruisers, uncrewed surface warships and uncrewed submarines.
The report, citing a Financial Times article on Saturday, said that the Chinese air force had staged a simulated missile run on the USS Theodore Roosevelt, a Nimitz-class carrier, and its strike group when it sent aircraft into Taiwan’s southwest air defense identification zone.
“China’s navy is viewed as posing a major challenge to the US Navy’s ability to achieve and maintain wartime control of blue-water ocean areas in the Western Pacific — the first such challenge the US Navy has faced since the end of the Cold War,” an article prepared for the US Congress by the Congressional Research Service said.
The US’ commitment to maintaining a strong navy would continue as long as there is a Russian and Chinese threat, and with Chinese ambitions to develop a blue-water navy, a US-China arms race would inevitably escalate, the congressional report said.
In light of such developments, Taiwan has also devoted efforts to strengthening surface combat capability by pursuing an indigenous submarine project, the launching of the Tuo Jiang-class corvettes and rapid mine-laying vessels, as well as continuing research into a plan to build a new missile cruiser, the report said.
Taiwan’s military is primarily concerned with self-defense and operates under a “layered deterrent, defense first” principle, a military official said on condition of anonymity, adding that it would be closely watching regional developments, but would not be affected by other nations’ arms races.
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck off the coast of Hualien County in eastern Taiwan at 7pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter of the temblor was at sea, about 69.9km south of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 30.9km, it said. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake’s intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County’s Changbin Township (長濱), where it measured 5 on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 4 in Hualien, Nantou, Chiayi, Yunlin, Changhua and Miaoli counties, as well as
STAY AWAY: An official said people should avoid disturbing snakes, as most do not actively attack humans, but would react defensively if threatened Taitung County authorities yesterday urged the public to stay vigilant and avoid disturbing snakes in the wild, following five reported snakebite cases in the county so far this year. Taitung County Fire Department secretary Lin Chien-cheng (林建誠) said two of the cases were in Donghe Township (東河) and involved the Taiwan habus, one person was bit by a Chinese pit viper near the South Link Railway and the remaining two were caused by unidentified snakes. He advised residents near fields to be cautious of snakes hiding in shady indoor areas, especially when entering or leaving their homes at night. In case of a
Credit departments of farmers’ and fishers’ associations blocked a total of more than NT$180 million (US$6.01 million) from being lost to scams last year, National Police Agency (NPA) data showed. The Agricultural Finance Agency (AFA) said last week that staff of farmers’ and fishers’ associations’ credit departments are required to implement fraud prevention measures when they serve clients at the counter. They would ask clients about personal financial management activities whenever they suspect there might be a fraud situation, and would immediately report the incident to local authorities, which would send police officers to the site to help, it said. NPA data showed
ENERGY RESILIENCE: Although Alaska is open for investments, Taiwan is sourcing its gas from the Middle East, and the sea routes carry risks, Ho Cheng-hui said US government officials’ high-profile reception of a Taiwanese representative at the Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference indicated the emergence of an Indo-Pacific energy resilience alliance, an academic said. Presidential Office Secretary-General Pan Men-an (潘孟安) attended the conference in Alaska on Thursday last week at the invitation of the US government. Pan visited oil and gas facilities with senior US officials, including US Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy and US Senator Daniel Sullivan. Pan attending the conference on behalf of President William Lai (賴清德) shows a significant elevation in diplomatic representation,
RSS