A Chinese spy ship and a US Navy destroyer were early yesterday detected in the waters off eastern Taiwan, a military source said.
It was not clear if the appearance of the Chinese vessel, identified as the Type 815 spy ship Beijixing, or Polaris, had anything to do with the recent test flights of Taiwan’s new indigenous advanced jet trainer, the source said on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to comment publicly on the issue.
The Beijixing was first detected heading south 40 nautical miles (74km) east of Hualien County’s Jingpu Village (靜浦) on Tuesday afternoon, they said.
At about 7am yesterday, it was seen about 43 nautical miles from Taitung County’s Changbin Township (長濱) and continued to move southward, the source said.
The military also detected the USS Pinckney, a US Navy Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, sailing into the Pacific Ocean via the Bashi Channel at about 4am yesterday, they said.
The destroyer was last seen about 44 nautical miles southeast of Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) before moving out of the navy’s range of surveillance, the source said.
The advanced jet trainer, codenamed Yung Yin or Brave Eagle, has in the past two days completed internal test flights and operational test flights over the Pacific Ocean east of Taitung, the source said.
An advanced jet trainer fleet is scheduled to be stationed at Taitung Air Base before the end of this year, they added.
Asked to confirm the presence of the Chinese and US vessels, military spokesman Shih Shun-wen (史順文) sidestepped the question, saying only that the armed forces have a complete grasp of any activity near Taiwan’s airspace and waters.
The military source said that most of the Chinese spy ships detected in the past few years in the waters off eastern Taiwan have been Chinese Type 815 auxiliary general intelligence ships.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
UNKNOWN TRAJECTORY: The storm could move in four possible directions, with the fourth option considered the most threatening to Taiwan, meteorologist Lin De-en said A soon-to-be-formed tropical storm east of the Philippines could begin affecting Taiwan on Wednesday next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The storm, to be named Fung-wong (鳳凰), is forecast to approach Taiwan on Tuesday next week and could begin affecting the weather in Taiwan on Wednesday, CWA forecaster Huang En-hung (黃恩鴻) said, adding that its impact might be amplified by the combined effect with the northeast monsoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the system’s center was 2,800km southeast of Oluanbi (鵝鑾鼻). It was moving northwest at 18kph. Meteorologist Lin De-en (林得恩) on Facebook yesterday wrote that the would-be storm is surrounded by
RSS