The military should enhance its response to China’s “gray zone” operations near Taiwan, and consider shooting down Chinese balloons over the ocean, Taiwanese researchers said on Saturday.
Several Chinese balloons have been detected in Taiwanese airspace in the past few weeks, in what some say is part of Beijing’s gray zone tactics, which also include incursions by military aircraft, warships and drones, Institute for National Policy Research senior consultant Chen Wen-jia (陳文甲) said.
“Intelligence and surveillance capabilities should be enhanced, and a set of corresponding standard operating procedures formulated as soon as possible,” he said.
Photo: AFP / Chase Doak
“It costs China comparatively little to send balloons into Taiwanese airspace, and we should remain highly vigilant in the face of these incursions,” he said.
Thirty-two balloons were detected crossing the Taiwan Strait from China from Jan. 1 to Jan. 13, the day of Taiwan’s presidential and legislative elections, Ministry of National Defense data showed.
Thirteen of those balloons passed over Taiwan proper.
From Jan. 14 to Friday, 22 balloons were detected, three of which passed over Taiwan proper, the data showed.
Shu Hsiao-huang (舒孝煌), a researcher at the government-funded think tank Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said in an interview that China is using seasonal winds to harass Taiwan with balloons.
The current sea conditions around the Taiwan Strait make it difficult for China to conduct drills with warships, but they are ideal for balloons, Shu said.
Balloons are a particular nuisance because they cannot be shot down over land without risking injury or damage to personal property, he said, adding that the military might shoot them down over the sea to collect material for intelligence analysis.
“China failed in its attempts to influence Taiwanese voters during the election, but this has not stopped it from persisting with these gray zone tactics,” Chen said.
China uses the balloons to collect information on atmospheric data over Taiwan, as well as Taiwan’s military deployments on the ground, which would help it prepare for launching rockets and missiles, he said.
“It is also testing Taiwan’s air defense capabilities and response. This information would be used in a possible joint operation by China’s military to invade Taiwan,” he said, adding that the government should maintain a high degree of vigilance against the incursions. “We need to devise a set of standard operating procedures as soon as possible, to be ready to respond to such incursions.”
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
CAUTION: Based on intelligence from the nation’s security agencies, MOFA has cautioned Taiwanese travelers about heightened safety risks in China-friendly countries The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday urged Taiwanese to be aware of their safety when traveling abroad, especially in countries that are friendly to China. China in June last year issued 22 guidelines that allow its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death so-called “diehard” Taiwanese independence activists, even though Chinese courts have no jurisdiction in Taiwan. Late last month, a senior Chinese official gave closed-door instructions to state security units to implement the guidelines in countries friendly to China, a government memo and a senior Taiwan security official said, based on information gathered by Taiwan’s intelligence agency. The
President William Lai (賴清德) should protect Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), and stop supporting domestic strife and discord, former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) wrote on Facebook yesterday. US President Donald Trump and TSMC on Monday jointly announced that the company would invest an additional US$100 billion over the next few years to expand its semiconductor manufacturing operations in the US. The TSMC plans have promoted concern in Taiwan that it would effectively lead to the chipmaking giant becoming Americanized. The Lai administration lacks tangible policies to address concerns that Taiwan might follow in Ukraine’s footsteps, Ma wrote. Instead, it seems to think it could
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said yesterday that it is looking to hire 8,000 people this year, at a time when the tech giant is expanding production capacity to maintain its lead over competitors. To attract talent, TSMC would launch a large-scale recruitment campaign on campuses across Taiwan, where a newly recruited engineer with a master’s degree could expect to receive an average salary of NT$2.2 million (US$60,912), which is much higher than the 2023 national average of NT$709,000 for those in the same category, according to government statistics. TSMC, which accounted for more than 60 percent
RSS