In a move that could strengthen Taiwan’s security, the US is moving two high-altitude “Global Hawk” spy drones to Japan to monitor the Chinese navy.
The unmanned drones — which can reach altitudes of 18km and stay airborne for 32 hours at a time — are to start operating from Misawa Air Base before the end of this month.
Their mission is to watch Chinese navy activities in the East China and South China seas, and through the Taiwan Strait.
They are also to gather intelligence about North Korea.
The transfer of the drones from Guam was first reported last week by online newspaper the Washington Free Beacon and confirmed by the US Air Force (USAF).
A USAF spokesperson said the drones are to be in Japan for four months and would support US “intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance priorities.”
In addition, the spokesperson said the drones would “ensure continued regional stability and security to all nations in the Asia-Pacific [region].”
While the Pentagon remains silent about most military cooperation with Taiwan, Washington is likely to share any relevant intelligence with Taipei.
The Global Hawks are being moved to Japan while China has about 80 ships protecting an oil rig in waters claimed by Taiwan and Vietnam and as tensions with Japan continue to escalate over the Senkakus, known as the Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台) in Taiwan.
News of the drone move also came as People’s Liberation Army Chief of General Staff General Fang Fenghui (房峰輝) ended a five-day visit to the US in which he said the US’ shift to the Pacific had “stirred up some of the problems” in the South China and East China seas.
“We do not create trouble, but we are not afraid of trouble,” he said.
“We will respond to threats,” US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Martin Dempsey said.
Writing in the Washington Post, senior fellows at the Council on Foreign Relations Elizabeth Economy and Michael Levi said this week that Chinese leaders were motivated in part by a desire to control the South China Sea lanes through which oil imports to Taiwan, China, Japan and South Korea pass.
“China’s latest move, which came as a surprise to Vietnam and other nations, undermines Bejing’s insistence that strong relations within the region are its top foreign policy priority,” Economy and Levi said.
“The US ought to call China’s bluff and make clear the real stakes,” they added.
The two policy analysts said the US and ASEAN should present a unified front in refusing to recognize unilateral assertions of claims in disputed territories.
US President Barack Obama’s rebalancing to Asia is premised on the US’ role as the primary guarantor of stability in the Pacific, Economy and Levi said.
Vietnam has reiterated its commitment to the peaceful resolution of the current dispute, the analysts said. If China does not reciprocate, the US should be prepared to support Vietnam through an increased naval presence, they added.
“This would give Washington the ability to assess Chinese capabilities and to help de-escalate the situation,” Economy and Levi said, adding that “if the US can’t back up its words with actions, its credibility in promising to uphold peace and stability in the region will be gutted.”
‘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
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
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
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
RSS