The Ministry of National Defense stepped up to the plate to defend an arms procurement bill yesterday, inviting dozens of local and foreign journalists to military facilities in southern Taiwan to hear its case.
A naval official yesterday said that although China has more than 80 submarines, Taiwan's navy has only a fleet of obsolete S-2T Turbo Tracker sub-hunting aircraft that are unable to detect most of the submarines, and that was why the navy needed the more advanced P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft.
To give the public and the media a better understanding of the navy's anti-submarine warfare (ASW) capabilities, the navy yesterday invited reporters to visit a naval air base in Pingtung County, and displayed the S-2T aircraft and its weapon systems.
PHOTO: CHANG CHUNG-YI, TAIPEI TIMES
The navy has urged the public to support the purchase of 12 P-3Cs from the US -- one of three big-ticket items in a purchase that has been blocked for months by the pan-blue controlled legislature.
"The radar, infrared, magnetic anomaly detector and sonar systems fitted on the S-2T aircrafts to detect submarines and monitor unknown vessels are too old to efficiently complete the mission," said a commander of the S-2T force, Captain Wu Chun-wei (
He said the S-2T could only stay in the air for three hours and 20 minutes, with a top speed of 180 nautical miles per hour, which only allows them to operate in a small area.
He added that the S-2Ts have no air conditioning, no Global Positioning System (GPS) and few computer systems, and that pilots have to operate the aircraft manually -- all of which makes for a high-pressure ride for pilots.
"When S-2T pilots carry out missions in the summer, they are already sweating a lot before they get in the aircraft, but then when they fly in the winter, they must withstand the cold," Wu added.
He said most S-2T pilots consider the aircraft dangerous to fly.
In comparison, Wu said, the P-3C can stay in the air for 17 hours with a top speed of 405 nautical miles per hour.
The aircraft is equipped with a much better detection and weapon systems. And more importantly, the P-3C would be able to link to the military's command and control system, which would significantly enhance the navy's ASW capabilities.
He added that S-2Ts are unable to detect China's best submarines, such as the Ming-class, Song-class and Kilo-class submarines, as well as its nuclear-powered subs.
"We have found that China is obtaining much quieter submarines," Wu added.
He said only sustained patrols using advanced maritime patrol aircraft such as the P-3C can detect China's submarines when they are underwater around Taiwan.
He added that the navy has calculated that if it procures US P-3Cs, those aircraft could be used for more than 20 years.
Wu said the navy mainly patrols the waters northeast, southeast and east of Taiwan, and that 12 P-3Cs would be sufficient to protect the nation's waters.
Wu said that of the navy's 26 S-2Ts, only 16 of the 50-year-old aircraft are serviceable.
The navy's anti-submarine force includes 26 S-2Ts, eight 500MD helicopters and 18 S-70C helicopters. Taiwan purchased 32 used S-2Ts in 1976.
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) and Chunghwa Telecom yesterday confirmed that an international undersea cable near Keelung Harbor had been cut by a Chinese ship, the Shunxin-39, a freighter registered in Cameroon. Chunghwa Telecom said the cable had its own backup equipment, and the incident would not affect telecommunications within Taiwan. The CGA said it dispatched a ship under its first fleet after receiving word of the incident and located the Shunxin-39 7 nautical miles (13km) north of Yehliu (野柳) at about 4:40pm on Friday. The CGA demanded that the Shunxin-39 return to seas closer to Keelung Harbor for investigation over the
National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology (NKUST) yesterday promised it would increase oversight of use of Chinese in course materials, following a social media outcry over instances of simplified Chinese characters being used, including in a final exam. People on Threads wrote that simplified Chinese characters were used on a final exam and in a textbook for a translation course at the university, while the business card of a professor bore the words: “Taiwan Province, China.” Photographs of the exam, the textbook and the business card were posted with the comments. NKUST said that other members of the faculty did not see
The Taipei City Government yesterday said contractors organizing its New Year’s Eve celebrations would be held responsible after a jumbo screen played a Beijing-ran television channel near the event’s end. An image showing China Central Television (CCTV) Channel 3 being displayed was posted on the social media platform Threads, sparking an outcry on the Internet over Beijing’s alleged political infiltration of the municipal government. A Taipei Department of Information and Tourism spokesman said event workers had made a “grave mistake” and that the Television Broadcasts Satellite (TVBS) group had the contract to operate the screens. The city would apply contractual penalties on TVBS
An apartment building in New Taipei City’s Sanchong District (三重) collapsed last night after a nearby construction project earlier in the day allegedly caused it to tilt. Shortly after work began at 9am on an ongoing excavation of a construction site on Liuzhang Street (六張街), two neighboring apartment buildings tilted and cracked, leading to exterior tiles peeling off, city officials said. The fire department then dispatched personnel to help evacuate 22 residents from nine households. After the incident, the city government first filled the building at No. 190, which appeared to be more badly affected, with water to stabilize the
RSS