Minister of National Defense Lee Jye (李傑) said yesterday the Chinese military has conducted more than 30 military exercices focusing on Taiwan.
Lee said the People's Liberation Army (PLA) has been growing in strength, and its military drills have been conducted under Chinese President Hu Jintao's (胡錦濤) principle of "talk less while doing more, hide the real but show the fake" (少說多做、隱真示假).
He highlighted the Chinese military threat yesterday morning during a meeting of the legislature's National Defense Committee. He said the Chinese military drills had emphasized landings on Taiwan, and the Chinese military believed it could land in a short period of time.
Lee said China has more than 20 satellites which were able to monitor Taiwan and the Taiwan Strait 24-hours a day. He said the quantity and quality of Chinese warships and submarines were increasing, and its power projection capabilities are also advancing.
Lee said China was also believed to be developing its first aircraft carrier. He said if China built an aircraft carrier force, it would be able to attack Taiwan from more directions.
Lee said China had targeted about 900 ballistic and cruise missiles at Taiwan, and the numbers were increasing at around 75 to 100 per year. China was also developing new missiles, Lee said.
He said about 500 advanced fighter jets with long-range missiles had also been deployed at China's military bases.
Lee noted that China had earmarked 351 billion yuan (US$45 billion) for its defense budget this year, an increase of 53 billion yuan over last year.
It was the the sharpest rise in the defense budget in a decade and a 17.8 percent increase in Beijing's military budget, he said.
Lee warned the military balance between China and Taiwan has been tipping in favor of Beijing.
The gap would increase if Taiwan did not build an advanced military force, he said.
SILICON VALLEY HUB: The office would showcase Taiwan’s strengths in semiconductors and artificial intelligence, and help Taiwanese start-ups connect with global opportunities Taiwan has established an office in Palo Alto, one of the principal cities of Silicon Valley in California, aimed at helping Taiwanese technology start-ups gain global visibility, the National Development Council said yesterday. The “Startup Island Taiwan Silicon Valley hub” at No. 299 California Avenue is focused on “supporting start-ups and innovators by providing professional consulting, co-working spaces, and community platforms,” the council said in a post on its Web site. The office is the second overseas start-up hub established by the council, after a similar site was set up in Tokyo in September last year. Representatives from Taiwanese start-ups, local businesses and
EXPRESSING GRATITUDE: Without its Taiwanese partners which are ‘working around the clock,’ Nvidia could not meet AI demand, CEO Jensen Huang said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and US-based artificial intelligence (AI) chip designer Nvidia Corp have partnered with each other on silicon photonics development, Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) said. Speaking with reporters after he met with TSMC chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) in Taipei on Friday, Huang said his company was working with the world’s largest contract chipmaker on silicon photonics, but admitted it was unlikely for the cooperation to yield results any time soon, and both sides would need several years to achieve concrete outcomes. To have a stake in the silicon photonics supply chain, TSMC and
‘DETERRENT’: US national security adviser-designate Mike Waltz said that he wants to speed up deliveries of weapons purchased by Taiwan to deter threats from China US president-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for US secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, affirmed his commitment to peace in the Taiwan Strait during his confirmation hearing in Washington on Tuesday. Hegseth called China “the most comprehensive and serious challenge to US national security” and said that he would aim to limit Beijing’s expansion in the Indo-Pacific region, Voice of America reported. He would also adhere to long-standing policies to prevent miscalculations, Hegseth added. The US Senate Armed Services Committee hearing was the first for a nominee of Trump’s incoming Cabinet, and questions mostly focused on whether he was fit for the
SHARED VALUES: The US, Taiwan and other allies hope to maintain the cross-strait ‘status quo’ to foster regional prosperity and growth, the former US vice president said Former US vice president Mike Pence yesterday vowed to continue to support US-Taiwan relations, and to defend the security and interests of both countries and the free world. At a meeting with President William Lai (賴清德) at the Presidential Office in Taipei, Pence said that the US and Taiwan enjoy strong and continued friendship based on the shared values of freedom, the rule of law and respect for human rights. Such foundations exceed limitations imposed by geography and culture, said Pence, who is visiting Taiwan for the first time. The US and Taiwan have shared interests, and Americans are increasingly concerned about China’s
RSS