News of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) Type 076 Sichuan amphibious assault ship highlights the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) ambition to expand its sea power, experts said yesterday.
The Sichuan is likely equipped with cutting-edge military technology, which indicates increased PLAN capabilities, experts said.
Recent displays of new Chinese equipment were impressive and showed that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has achieved breakthroughs in its military industry capabilities, Institute for National Defense and Security Research fellow Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲) said.
Screen grab from YouTube
However, Su said that he considered such breakthroughs to be advances in design, and that the capabilities of such ships are unknown.
The ship highlighted a shift in China’s national strategy, he said, adding that Beijing wants to have a strong blue sea navy that would enable it to implement its “two oceans, three seas” strategy.
The strategy refers to China’s increased presence and capability to influence affairs in the Indian and Pacific oceans, the East China and South China seas, and the Taiwan Strait.
The Type 076 vessel can reconnoiter and launch ranged strikes simultaneously, Tamkang University Graduate Institute of International Affairs and Strategic Studies assistant professor Lin Ying-yu (林穎佑) said, adding that the ship shows that the PLAN is moving away from the traditional amphibious landing concept.
Reports of Chinese advances in technology are largely aimed at China’s citizens, as Taiwan would only use such information to bolster defenses and prepare countermeasures, Lin said.
Su said the PLA is capable of producing fighters such as the reported Chinese sixth-generation fighter, but he expected that the performance and life expectancy of its engines are at least a decade behind US’ fighter jets.
The recent release of photographs and reports on the sixth-generation fighter was aimed at placating internal strife, as morale of the Chinese military had taken a hit due to several high-level corruption cases, Su said.
The news about China’s military capabilities could backfire and cause the administration of US president-elect Donald Trump to step up its containment strategies against Beijing, he added.
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
President William Lai (賴清德) has appointed former vice president Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) to attend the late Pope Francis’ funeral at the Vatican City on Saturday on his behalf, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today. The Holy See announced Francis’ funeral would take place on Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square. The ministry expressed condolences over Francis’ passing and said that Chen would represent Taiwan at the funeral and offer condolences in person. Taiwan and the Vatican have a long-standing and close diplomatic relationship, the ministry said. Both sides agreed to have Chen represent Taiwan at the funeral, given his Catholic identity and
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
Lawmakers from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday established a friendship group with their counterparts in Ukraine to promote parliamentary exchanges between the two countries. A ceremony in Taipei for the Taiwan-Ukraine Parliamentary Friendship Association, initiated by DPP Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷), was attended by lawmakers and officials, including Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) and European Economic and Trade Office in Taiwan Director Lutz Gullner. The increasingly dire situation in Ukraine is a global concern, and Taiwan cannot turn its back when the latter is in need of help, as the two countries share many common values and interests,