Taiwan should make broader use of civilian assets, including drones and security guards, to defend the country in a potential cross-strait conflict, security experts told a conference in Taipei on Wednesday.
Drones have played a key role in Ukraine’s effective asymmetric warfare as it fended off Russian attacks, proving that the technology has caused a seachange in armed conflict, Geosat Aerospace & Technology Inc chairman Lo Cheng-fang (羅正方) told the event hosted by think tank Taiwan Tao Strategy Association.
Uncrewed aerial vehicles, such as the Turkish Bayraktar TB2, helped Ukrainian forces defy predictions that the country would fall quickly without air superiority, he said.
Photo: Aaron Tu, Taipei Times
“Drones have become the poor country’s air superiority,” Lo said.
Taiwan’s armed forces should tap into the military potential of the country’s 10,000 licensed drone operators for service at war, but should also be wary that Chinese drones could also pose a national security threat, he said.
The Civil Defense Act (民防法) could be amended to authorize private security companies to help maintain order and public safety during wartime, Security Industries Association president Chang Ta-chang (張達錩) said.
Private security groups are suited for the task, as they have familiarity with Taiwan’s basic infrastructure, including hospitals, mass transit systems, banks and residential complexes, he said, adding that the country’s 300,000 security guards could also help distribute necessities and collect information.
Beijing’s strategy to defeat Taiwan is to isolate the country first by using sea, air and land forces in overwhelming combinations, said Kung Shan-son (龔祥生), a research fellow at the government-funded Institute for National Defense and Security Research.
The Taiwanese military’s strong defense abilities and layered deterrence was developed largely to foil that strategy by developing highly mobile, well-concealed and long-range precision weapon capabilities, he said.
The survival of Taiwan’s command and control centers are bolstered by these defense advances, as well as aiding surveillance capabilities and combat forces, he said, adding that Taiwan’s advanced weapons could disrupt the enemy’s operational tempo, force delays and ultimately defeat an invasion, he said.
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Taiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and V
Trips for more than 100,000 international and domestic air travelers could be disrupted as China launches a military exercise around Taiwan today, Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said yesterday. The exercise could affect nearly 900 flights scheduled to enter the Taipei Flight Information Region (FIR) during the exercise window, it added. A notice issued by the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration showed there would be seven temporary zones around the Taiwan Strait which would be used for live-fire exercises, lasting from 8am to 6pm today. All aircraft are prohibited from entering during exercise, it says. Taipei FIR has 14 international air routes and
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
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