Taiwan’s air force showcased its anti-aircraft capabilities yesterday, saying it is ready for action 24 hours a day, as the nation faces sustained pressure from Chinese military drills.
China has been carrying out exercises around the nation after a visit earlier this month by US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who was followed by five US lawmakers on Sunday and Monday.
Pelosi’s visit infuriated China, which responded with test launches of ballistic missiles over Taipei, and sent warships and fighter jets close to Taiwan.
Photo: Ann Wang, Reuters
On a government-organized trip for media to Taiwan’s key east coast air base in Hualien, the air force showed off its anti-aircraft systems, including the domestically developed Tien Kung III (Sky Bow III) surface-to-air missiles.
Also on display was the Oerlikon GDF-006 35mm anti-aircraft gun, which officers demonstrated how to set up and how it was aimed at incoming aircraft.
Air defense crews said the increased tensions, including the recent Chinese drills, did not faze them.
Photo: EPA
“We were not nervous at all at that time, as our regular training is prepared for all-day, 24-hour missile operations,” air defense officer Chen Te-huan said. “When the Chinese military acted, we were already well prepared.”
Although Taiwan’s air force has been at the front lines of responding to China’s drills, including regularly scrambling aircraft to ward off Chinese fighters that get close to the nation, the government has stressed its “calm response,” and there have been no clashes.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of National Defense said that 51 Chinese aircraft and six Chinese ships had been detected operating around Taiwan yesterday as Beijing continued its military activities.
Photo: Reuters
That included 25 aircraft that crossed the Taiwan Strait’s median line or flew into Taiwan’s air defense zone, it said.
‘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 magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
RSS