President Chen Shui-bian (
Accompanied by military leadership, Chen toured the major facilities of the vast Chiashan base, which sits in a hollowed-out mountain not far away from the Pacific Ocean.
The Chiashan base, which took roughly eight years and more than NT$27 billion to build, was one of the military's largest engineering projects in recent decades. Its construction spanned from 1985 to 1993. The base reportedly is able to accommodate roughly 200 fighter planes. It was designed to preserve the combat strength of the air force in the event of a first strike by the enemy.
Chen visited the base's strategic command center and the giant tunnels that allow fighters to taxi and park, according to a defense official who participated in the trip.
Impressed by what he saw, Chen said in a later speech to military leaders that the eastern parts of the island will play a key role in the defense of the country in the future, the official said.
The security of the eastern part of the island will greatly affect the defense of the whole country and the offshore Penghu islands. The most important task in the enhancement of the security of the region is to combine military and civilian resources, the official quoted Chen as saying.
In addition to the Chiashan base, Chen also inspected neighboring military establishments, including the 401st fighter wing of the air force and the navy's aviation command center.
The 401st fighter wing is comprised solely of US-made F-16s. Only one squadron of the wing has been established, while the remaining two squadrons are still awaiting to be inaugurated.
The wing's primary role is to protect the Chiashan base, as well as important military assets in the eastern parts of the island.
The wing is located next to the Chiashan base, capable of scrambling planes in the shortest amount of time possible.
The navy's aviation command center, also located in the vicinity, is home to the navy's anti-submarine helicopters and aircraft such as the S-2T.
As was the case during his previous inspection trips to military establishments, Chen had lunch with the base's staff officers before flying back to Taipei.
GEARING UP: An invasion would be difficult and would strain China’s forces, but it has conducted large-scale training supporting an invasion scenario, the report said China increased its military pressure on Taiwan last year and took other steps in preparation for a potential invasion, an annual report published by the US Department of Defense on Wednesday showed. “Throughout 2023, Beijing continued to erode longstanding norms in and around Taiwan by employing a range of pressure tactics against Taiwan,” the report said, which is titled “Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China (PRC) 2024.” The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) “is preparing for a contingency to unify Taiwan with the PRC by force, if perceived as necessary by Beijing, while simultaneously deterring, delaying or denying
PEACEFUL RESOLUTION: A statement issued following a meeting between Australia and Britain reiterated support for Taiwan and opposition to change in the Taiwan Strait Canada should support the peaceful resolution of Taiwan’s destiny according to the will of Taiwanese, Canadian lawmakers said in a resolution marking the second anniversary of that nation’s Indo-Pacific strategy on Monday. The Canadian House of Commons committee on Canada-Chinese relations made the comment as part of 34 recommendations for the new edition of the strategy, adding that Ottawa should back Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organizations. Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy, first published in October 2022, emphasized that the region’s security, trade, human rights, democracy and environmental protection would play a crucial role in shaping Canada’s future. The strategy called for Canada to deepen
TECH CONFERENCE: Input from industry and academic experts can contribute to future policymaking across government agencies, President William Lai said Multifunctional service robots could be the next new area in which Taiwan could play a significant role, given its strengths in chip manufacturing and software design, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) chairman and chief executive C.C. Wei (魏哲家) said yesterday. “In the past two months, our customers shared a lot of their future plans with me. Artificial intelligence [AI] and AI applications were the most talked about subjects in our conversation,” Wei said in a speech at the National Science and Technology Conference in Taipei. TSMC, the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, counts Nvidia Corp, Advanced Micro Devices Inc, Apple Inc and
LEAP FORWARD: The new tanks are ‘decades more advanced than’ the army’s current fleet and would enable it to compete with China’s tanks, a source said A shipment of 38 US-made M1A2T Abrams tanks — part of a military procurement package from the US — arrived at the Port of Taipei early yesterday. The vehicles are the first batch of 108 tanks and other items that then-US president Donald Trump announced for Taiwan in 2019. The Ministry of National Defense at the time allocated NT$40.5 billion (US$1.25 billion) for the purchase. To accommodate the arrival of the tanks, the port suspended the use of all terminals and storage area machinery from 6pm last night until 7am this morning. The tanks are expected to be deployed at the army’s training
RSS