Asymmetrical warfare, mobile land-based long-range precision strike capability and multi-functional unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are to make up the principle focus of the military, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said in its report entitled Modernization of the Military over the Next Five Years.
The report, sent to the legislature last week for approval, sought to define and clarify Taiwan’s development of basic and asymmetrical combat capabilities, as well as the preservation of combat capabilities.
The development of the military’s asymmetrical forces places emphasis on the development of mobile land-based, long-range precision and area-of-effect strike capabilities, building and purchasing multi-functional UAVs as well as attack helicopters capable of littoral and beachhead attack capabilities and the establishment of all-frequency electronic detection, electronic countermeasures and cyberwarfare attack and detection capabilities, the report said.
Asymmetrical warfare is the establishment of a military force not overtly noticeable in peacetime, but capable of hitting enemy forces’ strategic centers hard in times of war and seeks to attack the vulnerabilities of the enemy to destroy or incapacitate their ability to continue to wage war, the report said.
It seeks to create positional advantages over the enemy and make the best use of all military forces by making the enemy reluctant to start a war after considering its potential losses, the report said.
Meanwhile, according to an unnamed ministry official, the mobile long-range strike capability includes the Hsiung Feng IIE missile and other surface-to-surface tactical ballistic missiles.
During the 1996 Taiwan Strait Crisis, the armed forces modified a type of missile so that it would be able to reach coastal cities in China, but because it was an deployed in an emergency situation, the accuracy and reliability of the modified missiles were not ideal, the official said.
After years of research and modification, the missile’s range, precision and reliability have developed to the extent that it has become an “effective countermeasure,” the official said.
However, because of the sensitivity of the issue, the official declined to comment further on the missile’s capabilities.
On the issue of UAVs, the official said the production of UAVs was part of a global trend, pointing out that the Chinese were now developing UAVs with attack capabilities.
The Chinese claim that the “Yilong” UAV they designed is superior to the US Predator, the official said, adding that although the UAVs the Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology has designed are based on the Predator, the long-range goal of the design is to manufacture a weapon on a par with the Reaper-class drones.
The institute has already handed over to the army 32 of its self-designed and researched UAVs, all of which are being used in training exercises in Taimali Township (太麻里) Taitung County, the official said.
The UAV would be used primarily for scouting and reconnaissance, the official said.
The official also said that despite many flaws in the design of the UAV, the military was confident that it would be able to correct those flaws and move towards the next stage of designing attack-capable UAVs.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and