Taiwan is “racing against the clock” to reform its defenses, New Power Party (NPP) legislators and experts said yesterday, cautioning against politicizing the issue.
“Defense reform cannot wait any longer,” NPP caucus whip Chiu Hsien-chih (邱顯智) told a news conference in Taipei.
Short, medium and long-term goals are needed, along with better public communication, Chiu said.
Photo: CNA
The indigenous shipbuilding program cannot keep facing delays, as Taiwan’s aging warships cannot compete with China’s ships, which are only a decade old on average, he said.
Volunteer soldier training must also be improved, especially as China steps up its military intimidation, he added, criticizing reports of army privates being ordered to practice songs rather than train.
“Our soldiers’ time is precious,” Chiu said.
Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, agreed about the nation’s outdated warships, saying the budget should be increased.
Taiwan’s new-generation ships would be 6,000-tonne vessels propelled by a combination of gas and diesel engines, better capable of countering China’s gray-zone tactics, Su said.
The war in Ukraine and China’s recent drills show that warfare is no longer limited to traditional armed conflict, but also involves psychological, economic and other types of warfare, NPP Legislator Claire Wang (王婉諭) said.
Pro-China parties in Taiwan are also fostering a sense of defeatism, she said, adding that the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) has even sent its vice chairman to China, leaving Taiwanese confused.
The Ministry of National Defense should be more active than it has been and share as much as it can with the public, she said, recommending regular news conferences and public announcements of Chinese maneuvers, as well as timely reactions to public concerns.
These could pre-empt misinformation from China and ensure that Taiwanese do not rely on other countries to learn about what is happening at home, she added.
Former minister of national defense Michael Tsai (蔡明憲) called on politicians to extend conscription to one year as soon as possible, instead of waiting until after local elections later this year, as the nation is “racing against the clock” to bolster its defenses.
“Taiwan’s security cannot be subject to electoral or political considerations,” he said.
He also urged President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) to hold a news conference detailing Taiwan’s “bottom line” for the global community.
As missiles flying overhead could mistakenly fall on Taiwanese territory, the president must clarify the nation’s stance, or other nations could doubt that the government has a strategy, he added.
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
Taiwan's Gold Apollo Co (金阿波羅通信) said today that the pagers used in detonations in Lebanon the day before were not made by it, but by a company called BAC which has a license to use its brand. At least nine people were killed and nearly 3,000 wounded when pagers used by Hezbollah members detonated simultaneously across Lebanon yesterday. Images of destroyed pagers analyzed by Reuters showed a format and stickers on the back that were consistent with pagers made by Gold Apollo. A senior Lebanese security source told Reuters that Hezbollah had ordered 5,000 pagers from Taiwan-based Gold Apollo. "The product was not
COLD FACTS: ‘Snow skin’ mooncakes, made with a glutinous rice skin and kept at a low temperature, have relatively few calories compared with other mooncakes Traditional mooncakes are a typical treat for many Taiwanese in the lead-up to the Mid-Autumn Festival, but a Taipei-based dietitian has urged people not to eat more than one per day and not to have them every day due to their high fat and calorie content. As mooncakes contain a lot of oil and sugar, they can have negative health effects on older people and those with diabetes, said Lai Yu-han (賴俞含), a dietitian at Taipei Hospital of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. “The maximum you can have is one mooncake a day, and do not eat them every day,” Lai