Defense specialists are warning that China’s Beidou (北斗) satellite-based navigation system, which began providing services on Tuesday, could pose a long-term threat to Taiwan’s security and they are calling for countermeasures.
Xinhua news agency announced on Tuesday that the Beidou (“Compass”) Navigation Satellite System had begun providing initial positioning, navigation and timing services for China and the surrounding areas. Hoping to diminish its reliance on the US’ global positioning systems (GPS), China began work on the Beidou system in 2000.
Ten satellites which form the Beidou “constellation” have been launched since 2007, with six more launches scheduled for next year to provide extended coverage for the Asia-Pacific region. By 2020, the Beidou constellation will comprise 35 satellites.
At present, only the US and Russia, with its Glonass constellation of 24 satellites, have fully operational satellite-based navigation services, with the EU’s Galileo expected to enter full service in 2013.
According to an October 2008 article by Jane’s Defence Weekly, China’s involvement in the Galileo project might have benefited the development of the Beidou constellation, especially dual-use technology used by the EU consortium.
Although China claims Beidou will provide commercial services, such as mapping, fishery, transport, meteorology and telecommunications, the system could also be of great assistance to the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).
The US military relies primarily on GPS satellite navigation data for military vehicles and precision-guided munitions and the US Air Force operates the more than 30 satellites on which the GPS is based.
Once it becomes fully operational, Beidou will provide tracking and imaging at a resolution to within 10m, greatly enhancing the PLA’s ability to launch “surgical” missile attacks using precision-guided munitions. It could also provide guidance for unmanned vehicles, or “drones.”
China Satellite Navigation Office director Ran Chengqi (冉承其) said the system is also intended for military use, adding that it would enhance the tracking abilities of the PLA by 100 to 1,000 times and reduce military spending.
Arthur Ding (丁樹範), a professor of international relations at National Chengchi University, said as the Chinese system represents a long-term threat to Taiwan, the latter should develop counterattack technology that can disrupt the Beidou system’s “ears and eyes.”
Taiwan does not need to destroy China’s weapons-guidance satellites, Ting said, adding that disruptive technology could be developed at relatively low cost.
Other measures adopted over the years are multi-layered air defense architecture through the acquisition and development of early-warning systems, radar and missile interceptors, such as the US-made Patriot and the Tien Kung I and II “Sky Bow.”
Taiwan has also been upgrading its “Skyguard” short-range air defense system by switching to Advanced Hit Efficiency And Destruction munitions, which are ideal to shoot down precision-guided munitions and unmanned aerial vehicles.
At a regular press conference in Beijing yesterday, Taiwan Affairs Office spokesman Yang Yi (楊毅) sought to assuage fears in Taiwan of potential military uses for the Beidou system, saying those were “unnecessary” and “misplaced,” adding that the navigation system “would only enhance the well-being of compatriots on both sides” of the Taiwan Strait.
China in recent years has also launched a series of “scientific” satellites that defense watchers believe could also have military applications. In several cases, China has never made public the results of the scientific experiments purportedly conducted by the satellites.
Constellations of Shijian orbiters could be used for anything from naval signals reconnaissance to time difference of arrival assessments or geolocation to track objects over large expanses of territory, such as carrier battle groups at sea.
Additional reporting by CNA and Bloomberg
‘CROWN JEWEL’: Washington ‘can delay and deter’ Chinese President Xi Jinping’s plans for Taiwan, but it is ‘a very delicate situation there,’ the secretary of state said US President Donald Trump is opposed to any change to Taiwan’s “status quo” by force or extortion and would maintain that policy, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told the Hugh Hewitt Show host on Wednesday. The US’ policy is to maintain Taiwan’s “status quo” and to oppose any changes in the situation by force or extortion, Rubio said. Hewitt asked Rubio about the significance of Trump earlier this month speaking with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) at the White House, a meeting that Hewitt described as a “big deal.” Asked whether the meeting was an indication of the
‘RELATIVELY STRONG LANGUAGE’: An expert said the state department has not softened its language on China and was ‘probably a little more Taiwan supportive’ China’s latest drills near Taiwan on Monday were “brazen and irresponsible threats,” a US Department of State spokesperson said on Tuesday, while reiterating Washington’s decades-long support of Taipei. “China cannot credibly claim to be a ‘force for stability in a turbulent world’ while issuing brazen and irresponsible threats toward Taiwan,” the unnamed spokesperson said in an e-mailed response to media queries. Washington’s enduring commitment to Taiwan will continue as it has for 45 years and the US “will continue to support Taiwan in the face of China’s military, economic, informational and diplomatic pressure campaign,” the e-mail said. “Alongside our international partners, we firmly
KAOHSIUNG CEREMONY: The contract chipmaker is planning to build 5 fabs in the southern city to gradually expand its 2-nanometer chip capacity Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, yesterday confirmed that it plans to hold a ceremony on March 31 to unveil a capacity expansion plan for its most advanced 2-nanometer chips in Kaohsiung, demonstrating its commitment to further investment at home. The ceremony is to be hosted by TSMC cochief operating officer Y.P. Chyn (秦永沛). It did not disclose whether Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) and high-ranking government officials would attend the ceremony. More details are to be released next week, it said. The chipmaker’s latest move came after its announcement earlier this month of an additional US$100 billion
Authorities yesterday elaborated on the rules governing Employment Gold Cards after a US cardholder was barred from entering Taiwan for six years after working without a permit during a 2023 visit. American YouTuber LeLe Farley was barred after already being approved for an Employment Gold Card, he said in a video published on his channel on Saturday. Farley, who has more than 420,000 subscribers on his YouTube channel, was approved for his Gold Card last month, but was told at a check-in counter at the Los Angeles International Airport that he could not enter Taiwan. That was because he previously participated in two
RSS