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.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or
RSS