The Ministry of National Defense (MND) yesterday confirmed that a Chinese Type 072A landing ship, a large tank carrier used for amphibious warfare, was spotted off northern Taiwan.
Local media reported that a plane passenger spotted the Chinese amphibious warship shortly before landing at Taipei International Airport (Songshan) on Friday.
The passenger took a photo of the vessel and later identified it as a Type 072A landing ship using its coordinates. The ship was about 60 nautical miles (111km) from the coast of Keelung.
Photo courtesy of Lin Yu-feng
The passenger said that no other ships were shadowing the Chinese vessel at the time.
The Type 072A has a displacement of 3,770 tonnes and is capable of carrying two medium helicopters and four landing craft.
The ship can carry up to 10 tanks and 250 fully armed troops, posing a significant threat to Taiwan, former Air Force Institute of Technology officer Lin Yu-feng (林延鳳) said.
Typically, Type 072A landing ships are seen off Taiwan’s east coast, making Friday’s sighting potentially a first, he said.
If troops from the ship were to land in northern Taiwan, it would pose a threat to several critical military sites, including the MND and the Joint Operations Command Center in Taipei’s Dazhi (大直) area, Lin said.
Navy Chief of Staff Chiu Chun-jung (邱俊榮) said the navy closely monitored the Chinese vessel operating in waters north of Taiwan, using the military’s joint intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems.
However, the ministry did not issue a specific statement identifying the ship as a Type 072A, instead categorizing it along with five other Chinese warships detected in the area, as indicated on a map released the following day.
The ministry typically refrains from identifying specific types of Chinese warships or aircraft operating near Taiwan to avoid causing unnecessary alarm among the public.
Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the ministry’s Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said that the navy generally dispatches vessels to shadow Chinese ships operating near Taiwan’s contiguous zone — a 24-nautical-mile area off its shores — or when a larger Chinese fleet is detected, rather than scrambling warships every time a threat approaches.
This helps prevent “wearing down” Taiwan’s defenses, he said.
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) today condemned the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) after the Czech officials confirmed that Chinese agents had surveilled Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) during her visit to Prague in March last year. Czech Military Intelligence director Petr Bartovsky yesterday said that Chinese operatives had attempted to create the conditions to carry out a demonstrative incident involving Hsiao, going as far as to plan a collision with her car. Hsiao was vice president-elect at the time. The MAC said that it has requested an explanation and demanded a public apology from Beijing. The CCP has repeatedly ignored the desires
Many Chinese spouses required to submit proof of having renounced their Chinese household registration have either completed the process or provided affidavits ahead of the June 30 deadline, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said on Thursday. Of the 12,146 people required to submit the proof, 5,534 had done so as of Wednesday, MAC deputy head and spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said. Another 2,572 people who met conditions for exemption or deferral from submitting proof of deregistration — such as those with serious illnesses or injuries — have submitted affidavits instead, he said. “As long as individuals are willing to cooperate with the legal
The Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant’s license has expired and it cannot simply be restarted, the Executive Yuan said today, ahead of national debates on the nuclear power referendum. The No. 2 reactor at the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant in Pingtung County was disconnected from the nation’s power grid and completely shut down on May 17, the day its license expired. The government would prioritize people’s safety and conduct necessary evaluations and checks if there is a need to extend the service life of the reactor, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) told a news conference. Lee said that the referendum would read: “Do
The Ministry of Environment yesterday held a seminar in Taipei for experts from Taiwan and Japan to exchange their experiences on the designs and development of public toilets. Japan Toilet Association chairman Kohei Yamamoto said that he was impressed with the eco-toilet set up at Daan Forest Park, adding that Japan still faces issues regarding public restrooms despite the progress it made over the past decades. For example, an all-gender toilet was set up in Kabukicho in Tokyo’s Shinjuku District several years ago, but it caused a public backlash and was rebuilt into traditional men’s and women’s toilets, he said. Japan Toilet Association
RSS