Taiwan should regard a cyberattack that causes “real harm or loss of life” as an act of war and respond with armed force, said Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the state-run Institute for National Defense and Security Research.
In March last year, then-minister of national defense Chiu Kuo-cheng (邱國正) broadened Taiwan’s definition of a “first blow” to include intrusions by Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft into the nation’s sovereign airspace, citing a shifting operational environment and Beijing’s growing use of “gray zone” tactics.
In June last year, Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) said the armed forces would respond with force only in self-defense against Chinese aggression, including attacks on Taiwanese aircraft, ships, infrastructure or sovereign territory — covering Taiwan proper and its outlying islands — as well as unauthorized entry by Chinese aircraft within 12 nautical miles (22.22km) of Taiwan’s coastline.
Photo: Reuters
Taiwan’s response would be proportional to the “first blow” made by China, he said at the time.
Asked this week how the military should respond to a large-scale cyberattack, Su said that while cyberoperations are less visible than physical incursions or weapons fire, most governments already consider cyberattacks that cause casualties or serious harm to be casus belli — an event that provokes war.
Taiwan could and should adopt the same standard for responding to cyberattacks, provided any armed retaliation remains proportional to the hostile action, Su said.
NATO’s Tallinn Manual affirms the right of member states to invoke Article 51 of the UN Charter — allowing self-defense — if they come under cyberattack, he said.
In 2019, the US and Japan amended their Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security to explicitly state that Washington is obligated to defend Japan, or US forces stationed there, against cyberwarfare attacks, he added.
Israel takes a more forceful approach, with a policy of issuing warnings over hacking traced to Hamas before launching airstrikes on the identified sources, Su said.
Taiwan has received more than US$70 million in royalties as of the end of last year from developing the F-16V jet as countries worldwide purchase or upgrade to this popular model, government and military officials said on Saturday. Taiwan funded the development of the F-16V jet and ended up the sole investor as other countries withdrew from the program. Now the F-16V is increasingly popular and countries must pay Taiwan a percentage in royalties when they purchase new F-16V aircraft or upgrade older F-16 models. The next five years are expected to be the peak for these royalties, with Taiwan potentially earning
STAY IN YOUR LANE: As the US and Israel attack Iran, the ministry has warned China not to overstep by including Taiwanese citizens in its evacuation orders The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday rebuked a statement by China’s embassy in Israel that it would evacuate Taiwanese holders of Chinese travel documents from Israel amid the latter’s escalating conflict with Iran. Tensions have risen across the Middle East in the wake of US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran beginning Saturday. China subsequently issued an evacuation notice for its citizens. In a news release, the Chinese embassy in Israel said holders of “Taiwan compatriot permits (台胞證)” issued to Taiwanese nationals by Chinese authorities for travel to China — could register for evacuation to Egypt. In Taipei, the ministry yesterday said Taiwan
POSITIVE DEVELOPMENT: Japan and the US are expected to hold in-depth discussions on Taiwan-related issues during the meeting next month, Japanese sources said The holding of a Japan-US leaders’ meeting ahead of US President Donald Trump’s visit to China is positive news for Taiwan, former Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association representative Hiroyasu Izumi said yesterday. After the Liberal Democratic Party’s landslide victory in Japan’s House of Representatives election, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is scheduled to visit the US next month, where she is to meet with Trump ahead of the US president’s planned visit to China from March 31 to April 2 for a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). Japan and the US are expected to hold in-depth discussions on Taiwan-related issues during the
‘LIKE-MINDED PARTNER’: Tako van Popta said it would be inappropriate to delay signing the deal with Taiwan because of China, adding he would promote the issue Canadian senators have stressed Taiwan’s importance for international trade and expressed enthusiasm for ensuring the Taiwan-Canada trade cooperation framework agreement is implemented this year. Representative to Canada Harry Tseng (曾厚仁) in an interview with the Central News Agency (CNA) said he was increasingly uneasy about Ottawa’s delays in signing the agreement, especially as Ottawa has warmed toward Beijing. There are “no negotiations left. Not only [is it] initialed, we have three versions of the text ready: English, French and Mandarin,” Tseng said. “That tells you how close we are to the final signature.” Tseng said that he hoped Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney
RSS