The navy yesterday was mum over whether it locked its fire control radar onto a Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) warship participating in a drill in waters off Taiwan's southwestern shores, but did not deny employing such a maneuver.
The incident, involving Taiwan's Pan Chao frigate and the Chinese navy's Urumqi, a Type 052D destroyer, was reported by "Taiwan ADIZ," a civilian social media page that monitors Chinese military movements around Taiwan, which claimed to show a radio exchange between the two vessels.
Photo: CNA
According to the page, the incident took place at 3:05am yesterday, just before the Urumqi entered Taiwan's southwestern contiguous zone, which extends 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from its shores.
In the audio recording, which could not be independently verified by CNA, a voice purporting to represent the Chinese vessel accused the Pan Chao of having "repeatedly locked its fire control radar onto our ship," a move regarded as one step away from firing a weapon.
"Your provocative intent is extremely clear and poses a serious threat to safety. You must immediately cease your provocative actions; otherwise, I will regard them as hostile acts, and you will bear full responsibility for all consequences," the voice said in the audio clip.
Asked about the issue at a news conference, Republic of China Navy Chief of Staff Chiu Chun-jung (邱俊榮) said only that the Pan Chao adopted necessary defense measures against the intruder in line with established protocols.
"After a Chinese warship enters the area within 24 nautical miles, we will designate a corresponding vessel to issue a defensive warning," Chiu said.
"The Pan Chao adopted the necessary measure — issuing a warning — which fell within said scope, with the aim being to repel [the PLA vessel]," he said.
"The navy has different protocols for varying contingencies, and in this case, we adopted the established protocol for a PLA military exercise," Chiu said.
The protocol entails a "communication process" in which a warning is issued, followed by a "defensive measure," he said.
The navy "would not escalate tensions or create disputes," Chiu added.
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was sentenced to six months in prison, commutable to a fine, by the New Taipei District Court today for contravening the Personal Data Protection Act (個人資料保護法) in a case linked to an alleged draft-dodging scheme. Wang allegedly paid NT$3.6 million (US$114,380) to an illegal group to help him evade mandatory military service through falsified medical documents, prosecutors said. He transferred the funds to Chen Chih-ming (陳志明), the alleged mastermind of a draft-evasion ring, although he lost contact with him as he was already in detention on fraud charges, they said. Chen is accused of helping a
SECURITY: Starlink owner Elon Musk has taken pro-Beijing positions, and allowing pro-China companies to control Taiwan’s critical infrastructure is risky, a legislator said Starlink was reluctant to offer services in Taiwan because of the nation’s extremely high penetration rates in 4G and 5G services, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said yesterday. The ministry made the comments at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, which reviewed amendments to Article 36 of the Telecommunications Management Act (電信管理法). Article 36 bans foreigners from holding more than 49 percent of shares in public telecommunications networks, while shares foreigners directly and indirectly hold are also capped at 60 percent of the total, unless specified otherwise by law. The amendments, sponsored by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ko
A Japan Self-Defense Forces vessel entered the Taiwan Strait yesterday, Japanese media reported. After passing through the Taiwan Strait, the Ikazuchi was to proceed to the South China Sea to take part in a joint military exercise with the US and the Philippines, the reports said. Japan Self-Defense Force vessels were first reported to have passed through the strait in September, 2024, with two further transits taking place in February and June last year, the Asahi Shimbun reported. Yesterday’s transit also marked the first time since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office that a Japanese warship has been sent through the Taiwan
RSS