The Ministry of National Defense (MND) yesterday declined to respond to a local media report that Taiwan had completed the design of its own third-generation fighter jet with Russian expertise, saying only that Taiwan has never stopped research and development for new weapons.
A story published by the Chinese-language China Times yesterday quoted an unnamed military official as saying that the government-owned Aerospace Industrial Development Corp (AIDC), which sent personnel to Russia for instruction from Russian experts, has finished designing the third-generation warplane.
It did not specify which Russian agency or company was involved.
The China Times quoted the official as saying that during the design process, Taiwanese and Russian experts studied the design of the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), the US’ most advanced fighter jet, but added that it was shorter than the JSF.
To deter any possible attack from China, Taiwan has sought to buy the more advanced F-16C/Ds, or JSFs, but Washington has not approved the request, so far agreeing only to upgrade Taiwan’s F-16A/Bs. This has prompted Taiwan to build its own third-generation warplanes for self-defence, the paper said. The F16C/D deal, worth at least NT$100 billion (US$3.3 billion), would have been Washington’s biggest arms sale to Taiwan since 2001.
“It is always the ministry’s job to continue development and research on new weapons to fit the needs of defending the country. But details of the process will always be something on which we cannot comment,” MND spokesman Major General Yu Sy-tue (虞思祖) said yesterday when asked for response to the China Times story.
Yu did not deny nor confirm the report. When asked for comment, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lin Yu-fang (林郁方), a member of the legislature’s Foreign and National Defense Committee, said it was not a good idea to seek help from Russia.
Lin said he did not believe that Russia would turn its back on China by helping Taiwan develop new jet fighters.
“I would buy it if you said that Russia would simply sell us engines. But, to help us develop new engines? Excuse me, I just don’t buy it,” Lin said.
Lin said he was optimistic about buying F-16C/D Falcons from the US, adding that he would lead a team to the US in September to help the MND seal the F-16C/D deal with the US government.
Also See: China envoy to visit Washington
BACK IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD: The planned transit by the ‘Baden-Wuerttemberg’ and the ‘Frankfurt am Main’ would be the German Navy’s first passage since 2002 Two German warships are set to pass through the Taiwan Strait in the middle of this month, becoming the first German naval vessels to do so in 22 years, Der Spiegel reported on Saturday. Reuters last month reported that the warships, the frigate Baden-Wuerttemberg and the replenishment ship Frankfurt am Main, were awaiting orders from Berlin to sail the Strait, prompting a rebuke to Germany from Beijing. Der Spiegel cited unspecified sources as saying Beijing would not be formally notified of the German ships’ passage to emphasize that Berlin views the trip as normal. The German Federal Ministry of Defense declined to comment. While
‘REGRETTABLE’: TPP lawmaker Vivian Huang said that ‘we will continue to support Chairman Ko and defend his innocence’ as he was transferred to a detention facility The Taipei District Court yesterday ruled that Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) be detained and held incommunicado over alleged corruption dating to his time as mayor of Taipei. The ruling reversed a decision by the court on Monday morning that Ko be released without bail. After prosecutors on Wednesday appealed the Monday decision, the High Court said that Ko had potentially been “actively involved” in the alleged corruption and ordered the district court to hold a second detention hearing. Ko did not speak to reporters upon his arrival at the district court at about 9:10am yesterday to attend a procedural
The Executive Yuan yesterday warned against traveling to or doing business in China after reports that Beijing is recruiting Taiwanese to help conceal the use of forced Uighur labor. The government is aware that Taiwan-based influencers and businesses are being asked to make pro-Beijing content and offered incentives to invest in the region, Executive Yuan acting spokeswoman Julia Hsieh (謝子涵) told a news conference. Taiwanese are urged to be aware of the potential personal and reputational harm by visiting or operating businesses in China, Hsieh said, adding that agencies are fully apprised of the situation. A national security official said that former Mainland
DRONE DEFENSE: The military plans to invest nearly NT$6.9 billion in a Chiayi County campus to serve as a production center for domestically developed UAVs, an official said The Ministry of National Defense plans to use a proposed aerospace and uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) industry campus to produce military drones, a defense official said yesterday. The campus in Chiayi County’s Minsyong Township (民雄) would receive nearly NT$6.9 billion (US$216.12 million) to build factories, hangars and UAV testing facilities, the ministry’s budget proposal submitted last month to the Legislative Yuan showed. The Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology, the ministry’s research and development arm, is to oversee the project, it said. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the defense official said the information disclosed by the report suggested that the campus would serve