The air force will start construction work on a base which will house a long-range early warning radar system next year.
The system will be bought from the US, and the air force is planning to spend around NT$1.5 billion on the base during the first year, according to the 2004 proposed defense budget.
"The base is to be built on a mountain in northern Hsinchu County, where there are already several radar sites belonging to different armed services," said a military officer who declined to be identified. "The site was chosen because of its high altitude, which will enable the long-range radar to have an adequate view," added the officer.
The long-range early warning radar would apparently have a range of 3,000km, but it has been reported that the US might not want Taiwan to see that far.
The air force declined to comment on the issue. It also refused to reveal whether it has decided what sort of long-range radar it wants to buy.
The Raytheon company's AN/EPS-123 Pave Paws early warning radar system is generally believed to be what the air force wants.
Although the air force said it has not yet decided on the system, it is possible that a decision has been made, since it is unlikely that construction would be planned for next year without a radar system in mind.
In the 2004 proposed defense budget being reviewed by the legislature, NT$1.5 billion has been allocated to construction of the long-range radar site.
The budget proposal does not specify what sort of radar the air force is to buy.
The NT$1.5 billion is the first sum of money that the air force is to spend on the building of the long-range radar system.
The US approved the sale of the early warning radar system to Taiwan in 2000, but the Ministry of National Defense has been slow in deciding to buy the system, arousing some complaints from the US, according to reports by the Chinese-language Liberty Times.
The Minister of National Defense, Tang Yao-ming (
The long-range radar would be able to detect ballistic missiles launched from China, increasing Taiwan's early warning time by around seven minutes.
Chang Li-teh (
"With the Pave Paws, the military might consider developing anti-satellite weapons. Such weapons do not need to be bought from abroad. Certain domestically built weapons being used by the military have the potential to be turned into satellite killers," Chang said.
But Chang was only making a suggestion, since there is no information to show that the military considers developing anti-satellite weapons.
ANOTHER EMERGES: The CWA yesterday said this year’s fourth storm of the typhoon season had formed in the South China Sea, but was not expected to affect Taiwan Tropical Storm Gaemi has intensified slightly as it heads toward Taiwan, where it is expected to affect the country in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 8am yesterday, the 120km-radius storm was 800km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving at 9kph northwest, the agency said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued tonight at the earliest, it said, adding that the storm is projected to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday. Gaemi’s potential effect on Taiwan remains unclear, as that would depend on its direction, radius and intensity, forecasters said. Former Weather Forecast
As COVID-19 cases in Japan have been increasing for 10 consecutive weeks, people should get vaccinated before visiting the nation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. The centers reported 773 hospitalizations and 124 deaths related to COVID-19 in Taiwan last week. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) on Tuesday said the number of weekly COVID-19 cases reported in Japan has been increasing since mid-May and surpassed 55,000 cases from July 8 to July 14. The average number of COVID-19 patients at Japan’s healthcare facilities that week was also 1.39 times that of the week before and KP.3 is the dominant
The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) working group for Taiwan-related policies is likely to be upgraded to a committee-level body, a report commissioned by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said. As Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is increasingly likely to upgrade the CCP’s Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs, Taiwanese authorities should prepare by researching Xi and the CCP, the report said. At the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the CCP, which ended on Thursday last week, the party set a target of 2029 for the completion of some tasks, meaning that Xi is likely preparing to
US-CHINA TRADE DISPUTE: Despite Beijing’s offer of preferential treatment, the lure of China has dimmed as Taiwanese and international investors move out Japan and the US have become the favored destinations for Taiwanese graduates as China’s attraction has waned over the years, the Ministry of Labor said. According to the ministry’s latest income and employment advisory published this month, 3,215 Taiwanese university graduates from the class of 2020 went to Japan, surpassing for the first time the 2,881 graduates who went to China. A total of 2,300 graduates from the class of 2021 went to the US, compared with the 2,262 who went to China, the document showed. The trend continued for the class of 2023, of whom 1,460 went to Japan, 1,334 went to