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.
Hong Kong singer Andy Lau’s (劉德華) concert in Taipei tonight has been cancelled due to Typhoon Kong-rei and is to be held at noon on Saturday instead, the concert organizer SuperDome said in a statement this afternoon. Tonight’s concert at Taipei Arena was to be the first of four consecutive nightly performances by Lau in Taipei, but it was called off at the request of Taipei Metro, the operator of the venue, due to the weather, said the organizer. Taipei Metro said the concert was cancelled out of consideration for the audience’s safety. The decision disappointed a number of Lau’s fans who had
A tropical depression east of the Philippines became a tropical storm early yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, less than a week after a typhoon barreled across the nation. The agency issued an advisory at 3:30am stating that the 22nd tropical storm, named Yinxing, of the Pacific typhoon season formed at 2am. As of 8am, the storm was 1,730km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, with a 100km radius. It was moving west-northwest at 32kph, with maximum sustained winds of 83kph and gusts of up to 108kph. Based on its current path, the storm is not expected to hit Taiwan, CWA
Commuters in Taipei picked their way through debris and navigated disrupted transit schedules this morning on their way to work and school, as the city was still working to clear the streets in the aftermath of Typhoon Kong-rey. By 11pm yesterday, there were estimated 2,000 trees down in the city, as well as 390 reports of infrastructure damage, 318 reports of building damage and 307 reports of fallen signs, the Taipei Public Works Department said. Workers were mobilized late last night to clear the debris as soon as possible, the department said. However, as of this morning, many people were leaving messages
A Canadian dental assistant was recently indicted by prosecutors after she was caught in August trying to smuggle 32kg of marijuana into Taiwan, the Aviation Police Bureau said on Wednesday. The 30-year-old was arrested on Aug. 4 after arriving on a flight to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Chang Tsung-lung (張驄瀧), a squad chief in the Aviation Police Bureau’s Criminal Investigation Division, told reporters. Customs officials noticed irregularities when the woman’s two suitcases passed through X-ray baggage scanners, Chang said. Upon searching them, officers discovered 32.61kg of marijuana, which local media outlets estimated to have a market value of more than NT$50 million (US$1.56
RSS