The military backs the six defense-related technologies listed by the government as being among Taiwan’s 22 key core technologies to face stringent controls, due to national security reasons, the Ministry of National Defense said on Tuesday.
The six defense-related technologies include military-grade carbon fiber composite; carbon/carbon composite ablation materials; and interference rejection identification friend or foe (IFF) system technologies, the ministry said.
They also include military-grade technologies of microwave/infrared/multi-mode seeker, active phased array radar, and ramjet, a form of air-breathing jet engine that uses the forward motion of the engine to take in air for combustion that produces jet thrust, it said.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
The six technologies made the list according to recommendations by the ministry’s top research unit, the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology (CSIST), to safeguard national security, it said in a statement.
The CSIST suggested the technologies based on two criteria, the ministry said.
First, Taiwan has an advantage in domestically developing or building those technologies, and second that it was urgent that they be put under government protection, the ministry said.
Institute for National Defense and Security Research fellow Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲) said the seeker technologies are particularly important.
The military-grade microwave/infrared/multi-mode seeker technology can enhance the ability of rocket and missile launch platform sensors to better identify and lock in enemy targets, including stealth aircraft, with the technology also used by fighter jets, uncrewed aerial vehicles and warships, he said.
Multi-mode seekers are being deployed for all kinds of rocket launchers, including the indigenous Hsiung Feng III supersonic anti-ship missile, Su said.
Beyond the benefits for the nation’s defense industry, the development of these key technologies can also support civilian purposes, such as applying the use of advanced infrared technology to autonomous vehicles, he said.
The six defense technologies were among 22 core technologies listed by the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) to be under heightened controls to prevent technology leaks and bolster industrial competitiveness.
The 22 technologies cover five industries: defense, aerospace, agriculture, semiconductors and information and communications technology, the NSTC said.
“Key technologies” refer to technologies that, if exported to China, Macau, Hong Kong or “external hostile forces,” would significantly harm national security, industrial competitiveness, or economic development, the NSTC said, citing the National Security Act (國家安全法).
Those found obtaining trade secrets related to national core key technologies by way of “theft, embezzlement, fraud, coercion, unauthorized reproduction, or other improper methods, or using and disclosing them after obtaining them,” may face up to 12 years in prison and a fine of up to NT$100 million (US$3.17 million), as stipulated in the act.
SEE IC ON PAGE 12
‘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 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
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as