Deputy Minister of National Defense Tsai Ming-hsien (
During a meeting of the Legislative Yuan's National Defense Committee, Tsai told lawmakers that it would take only five to 10 minutes for China's missiles and military aircraft to fly across the 200km Taiwan Strait to reach Taiwan.
Against this backdrop, it will be very helpful if Taiwan can expand its strategic depth and improve its early warning capability by setting up a base in the South China Sea, which is an international thoroughfare for airplanes and ships, Tsai said.
The Spratly Islands, which consist of more than 100 small islands or reefs surrounded by rich fishing grounds and oil deposits, are claimed either entirely or partially by Taiwan, China, Vietnam, Malaysia and the Philippines.
Taiwan now occupies Taiping Island (太平島). China, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam have also stationed small numbers of military forces on some other islands.
Ministry of National Defense (MND) officials had previously emphasized that the airstrip to be located on Taiping Island is not intended for military use but instead for humanitarian purposes, such as emergency rescue efforts by the Coast Guard of sick or injured sailors or fishermen.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) on Tuesday rejected Vietnam's demand that it cease building airstrips on the disputed Spratly archipelago.
Vietnamese Foreign Ministry spokesman Le Dung warned last Thursday that construction on Taiping Island, also known as Itu Aba (Malay for "What's that?"), would violate Vietnamese sovereignty and create a "negative impact" on peace, stability and regional cooperation.
In response, MOFA Spokesman Michel Lu (呂慶龍) said that the island is part of Taiwan's territory and that the defense ministry's building of a landing strip on the island is therefore in accordance with the nation's sovereignty, adding that it is based on the need for coastal security as well as safeguarding the country's territory.
Also during yesterday's meeting, Liang Kung-kai (梁功凱), head of the MND's Department of Strategic Planning, denied a media report that the ministry is planning to set up two submarine ambush zones in the South China Sea.
Liang dismissed the report as mere speculation.
However, Liang said that if war broke out between Taiwan and China, Taiwan's submarines would definitely have the ability to make ambush attacks against China's oil tankers in the South China Sea.
Death row inmate Huang Lin-kai (黃麟凱), who was convicted for the double murder of his former girlfriend and her mother, is to be executed at the Taipei Detention Center tonight, the Ministry of Justice announced. Huang, who was a military conscript at the time, was convicted for the rape and murder of his ex-girlfriend, surnamed Wang (王), and the murder of her mother, after breaking into their home on Oct. 1, 2013. Prosecutors cited anger over the breakup and a dispute about money as the motives behind the double homicide. This is the first time that Minister of Justice Cheng Ming-chien (鄭銘謙) has
BITTERLY COLD: The inauguration ceremony for US president-elect Donald Trump has been moved indoors due to cold weather, with the new venue lacking capacity A delegation of cross-party lawmakers from Taiwan, led by Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), for the inauguration of US president-elect Donald Trump, would not be able to attend the ceremony, as it is being moved indoors due to forecasts of intense cold weather in Washington tomorrow. The inauguration ceremony for Trump and US vice president-elect JD Vance is to be held inside the Capitol Rotunda, which has a capacity of about 2,000 people. A person familiar with the issue yesterday said although the outdoor inauguration ceremony has been relocated, Taiwan’s legislative delegation has decided to head off to Washington as scheduled. The delegation
TRANSPORT CONVENIENCE: The new ticket gates would accept a variety of mobile payment methods, and buses would be installed with QR code readers for ease of use New ticketing gates for the Taipei metro system are expected to begin service in October, allowing users to swipe with cellphones and select credit cards partnered with Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC), the company said on Tuesday. TRTC said its gates in use are experiencing difficulty due to their age, as they were first installed in 2007. Maintenance is increasingly expensive and challenging as the manufacturing of components is halted or becoming harder to find, the company said. Currently, the gates only accept EasyCard, iPass and electronic icash tickets, or one-time-use tickets purchased at kiosks, the company said. Since 2023, the company said it
Another wave of cold air would affect Taiwan starting from Friday and could evolve into a continental cold mass, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Temperatures could drop below 10°C across Taiwan on Monday and Tuesday next week, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said. Seasonal northeasterly winds could bring rain, he said. Meanwhile, due to the continental cold mass and radiative cooling, it would be cold in northern and northeastern Taiwan today and tomorrow, according to the CWA. From last night to this morning, temperatures could drop below 10°C in northern Taiwan, it said. A thin coat of snow
RSS