A long-stalled runway upgrade project on Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙群島) has finally begun, despite rising military threats from China, and should be completed early next year, a Ministry of National Defense (MND) report said yesterday.
The ministry originally found a contractor for the project on the island in the South China Sea on Feb. 20 last year and construction was supposed to begin on April 6 that year, said the report, which was sent to lawmakers for review.
However, regional tensions and poor weather conditions prevented any progress from being made for nearly a year, but the contractor recently began work on the runway upgrade, and it is expected to be completed in February next year.
The ministry did not provide further details about the project, saying only that once completed, the runway could be used to “rapidly transport military assets to support the nation’s armed forces.”
The airport is mainly used for military purposes, with military C-130 transport planes regularly landing there.
Private airline Uni Air also flies there once a week from Kaohsiung, but the service is only for Coast Guard Administration staff stationed on the island.
The report added that Taiwan would soon deploy 292 Kestrel anti-armor rockets on Pratas Island and Itu Aba Island (Taiping Island, 太平島) to beef up their defense amid Beijing’s increasing military incursions in the region.
The Kestrel anti-armor rocket, developed by the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology, is a shoulder-launched anti-
armor weapon that can penetrate concrete.
The ministry’s report was released after Chinese drones were spotted near Pratas Island, while Chinese People’s Liberation Army aircraft have been flying through Taiwan’s air defense identification zone near the Pratas Island on an almost daily basis.
Pratas Island lies 450km southwest of Kaohsiung, while Itu Aba Island is 1,600km southwest of Kaohsiung. The two are staffed by coast guard personnel trained by the Marine Corps, but the ministry last year said it would temporarily post marines on Pratas Island amid reports the Chinese military planned to conduct drills in the area.
The military never revealed other details, such as the number of marines deployed, when they arrived on the island, or how long they would stay.
Taiwan, Brunei, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam claim all or part of the South China Sea region as their territory.
Hong Kong-based American singer-songwriter Khalil Fong (方大同) has passed away at the age of 41, Fong’s record label confirmed yesterday. “With unwavering optimism in the face of a relentless illness for five years, Khalil Fong gently and gracefully bid farewell to this world on the morning of February 21, 2025, stepping into the next realm of existence to carry forward his purpose and dreams,” Fu Music wrote on the company’s official Facebook page. “The music and graphic novels he gifted to the world remain an eternal testament to his luminous spirit, a timeless treasure for generations to come,” it said. Although Fong’s
China’s military buildup in the southern portion of the first island chain poses a serious threat to Taiwan’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply, a defense analyst warned. Writing in a bulletin on the National Defense and Security Research’s Web site on Thursday, Huang Tsung-ting (黃宗鼎) said that China might choke off Taiwan’s energy supply without it. Beginning last year, China entrenched its position in the southern region of the first island chain, often with Russia’s active support, he said. In May of the same year, a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) force consisting of a Type 054A destroyer, Type 055 destroyer,
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was questioned by prosecutors for allegedly orchestrating an attack on a taxi driver after he was allegedly driven on a longer than necessary route in a car he disliked. The questioning at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office was ongoing as of press time last night. Police have recommended charges of attempted murder. The legally embattled actor — known for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代) — is under a separate investigation for allegedly using fake medical documents to evade mandatory military service. According to local media reports, police said Wang earlier last year ordered a
Taiwan is planning to expand the use of artificial intelligence (AI)-based X-ray imaging to customs clearance points over the next four years to curb the smuggling of contraband, a Customs Administration official said. The official on condition of anonymity said the plan would cover meat products, e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products, large bundles of banknotes and certain agricultural produce. Taiwan began using AI image recognition systems in July 2021. This year, generative AI — a subset of AI which uses generative models to produce data — would be used to train AI models to produce realistic X-ray images of contraband, the official
RSS