A military enthusiast yesterday posted photographs of Taiwanese F-16 jets taking off from Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu with two refueling aircraft, presumably returning to Taiwan from the US for upgrades.
Asked about the matter, the Ministry of National Defense declined to comment.
The jets had been part of training at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona and had briefly landed in Honolulu, where the photographer, Aeros808, had spotted them, a source said.
Photo: Yu Tai-lang, Taipei Times
The jets did not land in Guam, which had been done in 1996 when the US Air Force delivered F-16s to Taiwan, the source said, adding that the jets were refueled mid-air eight times.
The air force had launched two F-16Vs to escort the jets, while officials cleared the perimeter of Hualien Air Base of unauthorized people.
The jets are to undergo an inspection before their departure for Ching Chuang Kang Air Base, where they are to be upgraded, the source said.
Separately, the navy said that it has commissioned the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology to manufacture a range of mid to long-range radars, which would be used to upgrade naval radar stations across the nation.
The upgrades would improve the navy’s ability to monitor Chinese naval movements, it said.
The navy has numerous radar stations on Taiwan proper, and on Kinmen, Matsu and Penghu.
Many of the stations operate outdated equipment and cannot deliver results that meet the navy’s expectations, it said.
The first phase of the upgrades, at an estimated cost of NT$250 million (US$8.93 million), is expected to be completed by the end of this year, the navy said.
The navy is contemplating following the air force’s lead in establishing an information hub for all radar feeds to minimize casualties in the event of an attack.
Such a hub would have to be implemented in stages, as it is dependent on regional radar station locations and how cables are to be routed, the navy said.
‘SHANDONG’
In other news, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s Shandong carrier group is slowly moving northward after wrapping up “routine exercises” in the South China Sea earlier this month, the Ministry of National Defense said.
The ministry said that it is closely monitoring the carrier group and would keep tabs on its movement regardless of whether it moves through the Taiwan Strait or takes another route.
A decision to describe a Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement on Singapore’s Taiwan policy as “erroneous” was made because the city-state has its own “one China policy” and has not followed Beijing’s “one China principle,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tien Chung-kwang (田中光) said yesterday. It has been a longstanding practice for the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to speak on other countries’ behalf concerning Taiwan, Tien said. The latest example was a statement issued by the PRC after a meeting between Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on the sidelines of the APEC summit
Taiwan’s passport ranked 34th in the world, with access to 141 visa-free destinations, according to the latest update to the Henley Passport Index released today. The index put together by Henley & Partners ranks 199 passports globally based on the number of destinations holders can access without a visa out of 227, and is updated monthly. The 141 visa-free destinations for Taiwanese passport holders are a slight decrease from last year, when holders had access to 145 destinations. Botswana and Columbia are among the countries that have recently ended visa-free status for Taiwanese after “bowing to pressure from the Chinese government,” the Ministry
HEALTHCARE: Following a 2022 Constitutional Court ruling, Taiwanese traveling overseas for six months would no longer be able to suspend their insurance Measures allowing people to suspend National Health Insurance (NHI) services if they plan to leave the country for six months would be abolished starting Dec. 23, NHIA Director-General Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) said yesterday. The decision followed the Constitutional Court’s ruling in 2022 that the regulation was unconstitutional and that it would invalidate the regulation automatically unless the NHIA amended it to conform with the Constitution. The agency would amend the regulations to remove the articles and sections that allow the suspension of NHI services, and also introduce provisional clauses for those who suspended their NHI services before Dec. 23, Shih said. According to
Minister of Labor Ho Pei-shan (何佩珊) yesterday apologized after the suicide of a civil servant earlier this month and announced that a supervisor accused of workplace bullying would be demoted. On Nov. 4, a 39-year-old information analyst at the Workforce Development Agency’s (WDA) northern branch, which covers greater Taipei and Keelung, as well as Yilan, Lienchiang and Kinmen counties, was found dead in their office. WDA northern branch director Hsieh Yi-jung (謝宜容), who has been accused of involvement in workplace bullying, would be demoted to a nonsupervisory position, Ho told a news conference in Taipei. WDA Director-General Tsai Meng-liang (蔡孟良) said he would
RSS