Missile Buildup
and Defense
Defense
Minister’s Visit to the U.S.
EU Arms Embargo
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[News] [Papers]
Washington to Keep Supplying
Arms to Taiwan: US Envoy
(AFP, Apr. 30, 2008) Stephen Young, director of the American Institute in
Taiwan (AIT), said the United States would continue to supply weapons to
Taipei. "We also expect our traditional close security cooperation to
continue.”
AIT Officials Attend Yushan
Wargames, MOFA Official Says
(Taiwan News, Apr. 25, 2008) The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday
confirmed a local media report which said that the de facto United States
ambassador in Taiwan, and several American officials had participated for the
first time in the annual computerized crisis simulation drill, "Yushan Wargame."
Chen's Final 'Yushan
Wargame' Begins
(Taiwan News, Apr. 23, 2008) The last of the annual computerized crisis
simulation drills 'Yushan Wargame'
to be staged during incumbent President Chen Shui-bian's
tenure kicked off. Local top government officials were summoned to meet at
emergency strategic commands around the island to simulate possible scenarios
should a cross-strait war erupt.
China, U.S. Defense Chiefs
Discuss Taiwan in First Phone Call
(AFP. Apr. 11, 2008) Chinese Defense Minister Liang
Guanglie and U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates
held their first phone talks, in which the Chinese official pushed for an end
to U.S.-Taiwan military ties, state media reported.
Taiwan Ex-President to be
Subpoenaed in High-Stakes Military Graft Case (Kyodo News, Apr. 10,
2008) A Taiwanese district court will subpoenae
former president Lee Teng-hui and former premier Hau Pei-tsun on May 19, one day
before president-elect Ma Ying-jeou takes office in
a military corruption case that has rocked Taiwan and France and threatens to
overshadow Ma's presidency.
Bush Tells Hu Shipment of
Warhead Fuse to Taiwan a 'Mistake'
(AFP, Mar. 27, 2008) US President George W. Bush told his Chinese counterpart
Hu Jintao Wednesday that
the Pentagon made a "mistake" by sending Taiwan four nuclear
warhead fuses in 2006, a top White House official said.
Taiwan Says Did Not
Dismantle U.S. Missile Parts
(Reuters, Mar. 27, 2008) Taiwan's
defense minister on Thursday said the island did not dismantle and examine
nuclear missile parts mistakenly shipped by the United States, in an incident
which has angered China and
embarrassed Washington.
Military Confirms US Missile Blunder
(Taipei Times, Mar. 27, 2008) The Ministry of National Defense (MND)
confirmed that a batch of four nose-cone fuses for intercontinental ballistic
missiles (ICBMs) that were accidentally shipped to Taiwan by the US in 2006
had been returned to the US. "The Pentagon initially asked us to handle
the matter, but we could not. When it became apparent that the parts were
prohibited military items that should not have left the [US] they stepped in
to manage their return," said Vice Admiral Wu Wei-rong,
director-general for the MND's Armaments Bureau.
China Concerned over U.S.
Nuclear Parts Mistake in Taiwan
(Reuters, Mar. 26, 2008) China expressed deep concern and dissatisfaction
with the United States after the Pentagon said to mistakenly shipping four fuses for nuclear
missiles to Taiwan in
2006.
Ma Says That If Elected, He Will Invest 3% of GDP in
National Defense (Taiwan News, Mar. 5,
2008) The opposition Kuomintang presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou said that if he is elected president he will see
that his administration invests no less than 3 percent of the country's GDP
in national defense, in order to ensure Taiwan's national security.
Taiwan Keeping Up on
Defense: Report
(Taipei Times, Mar. 5, 2008) China's military advantage in the Taiwan Strait
continues to grow, but the Legislative Yuan's decision last year to boost
defense spending will help right the balance, the Pentagon said in its annual
review of China's military.
Tsai Sworn in as Head of
Defense
(China Post, Feb. 26, 2008) Tsai Ming-hsien, newly
sworn in as minister of national defense, said yesterday he did not know if
Taiwan Goal would be disbanded on time as a government-financed private
company in charge of purchasing arms from abroad.
Gov't to Pull out from
Private Arms Brokerage
(China Post, Feb. 24, 2008) The government will pull out from a private arms
brokerage firm whose establishment has been wrongly condemned by the
opposition and has caused the defense minister to resign, Premier Chang Chiun-hsiung decided.
Taiwan's Defense Minister
Submits Resignation
(Bloomberg, Feb. 23, 2008) Taiwan's Defense Minister Lee Tien-
yu submitted his resignation after parliament
criticized the ministry's move to set up a company to handle arms purchases.
MND Sets Up Arms Procurement
Company
(Taiwan News, Feb. 15, 2008) The Ministry of National Defense confirmed a
local media report that the government had formed a private company in which
will be responsible for future imports and exports of military-related
technology. The name of the company is reportedly "Taiwan Goal,"
and Vice Premier Chiou I-jen
and DPP New Wave faction leader Wu Nan-jen are
reportedly heading the company.
U.S. to Wait for Taiwan Vote Before Jet Sales Possible
(Reuters, Feb. 2, 2008) Washington will only consider sales of F-16 fighter
jets to Taiwan after the island elects a new president to avoid giving more
teeth to the current administration that is hostile towards China, a member
of the main opposition nationalist party said.
Taiwan's Chen Sees Jump in China
Missile Build-Up
(Reuters, Jan. 1, 2008) Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian said China
now had 1,328 ballistic missiles aimed at the self-ruled island, up by more
than a third from a previous estimate, further threatening stability in the Taiwan Strait.
Gates Says U.S. Arms Sales
to Taiwan to Go On
(Central News Agency, Dec. 23, 2007) The United States will continue its arms
sales to Taiwan, U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said. "I was very
explicit that our arms sales were consistent with the Taiwan Relations Act
and the joint statement and that as long as they continued to build up their
forces on their side of the Taiwan Strait, we would continue to give Taiwan
the resources necessary to defend itself,"
Gates said.
Taipei Approves Patriot Missile Purchase
(AP, Dec. 21, 2007) Taiwan's legislature has approved the island's 2008
defense budget, including a long-delayed allocation for three sets of US-made
Patriot III missiles. The budget includes a NT$2 billion allocation for a
feasibility study on the acquisition of US-made diesel submarines.
Legislative officials said the defense budget totaled NT$341.4 billion - a 12
per cent increase over 2007.
Taiwan President Pushes for Naval Build-Up
(AFP, Dec. 18, 207) Taiwan's President Chen Shui-bian
pressed for a build-up of the island's seaborne defenses, warning of a
possible Chinese blockade during a trip to a naval base. Taiwan is moving
slowly towards acquiring eight new submarines from the United States after
gaining parliamentary approval for a two billion dollar 'assessment fee' last
week.
Eisenhower Advisers
Discussed Using Nuclear Weapons in China
(Washington Post, Apr. 30, 2008) Senior Air Force officers proposed using
10-to-15-kiloton nuclear bombs against targets in Communist China in 1958, in
the event that Beijing blockaded the Taiwan Strait, but President Dwight D.
Eisenhower ruled out that option, according to a newly declassified Pentagon
document.
Taiwan Must Review Security
Risks By Mark Stokes
(Taipei Times, Mar. 12, 2008) The recent US Department of Defense report on
PRC military modernization is a useful reminder of the challenges posed by China's
rise as a major regional power. This year's report is the most detailed and
insightful to date and a number of issues are worthy of consideration for
Taiwan.
A SMART Strategy for National
Security By Ma Ying-jeou
(February 26, 2008) to achieve our national security objectives, Taiwan needs
to be SMART. The S in SMART stands for soft power. The M in SMART stands for
Military Deterrence. The A in SMART stands for Assuring the Status Quo. The R
in START stands for Restoring Mutual Trust. These four concept pillars hold
up the final idea in SMART, the T that stands for Taiwan.
Taiwan Faces Better PLA Ability By Andrei Chang
(United Press International, Jan. 26, 2008) The appearance of Chinese editions
of expeditionary fighting vehicles (CEFV/CAAAV amphibious assault vehicles)
has fundamentally changed the mode of cross-sea combat operations in the
Taiwan Strait, making beyond-vision landing assaults possible. The practical
significance is that these vehicles can greatly suppress and weaken the
artillery projection capability of the Taiwanese ground forces.
China Planning Taiwan Strait Route for Commercial Aviation By David Lague (International Herald
Tribune, Jan. 6, 2008) China plans to open a new commercial aviation route
through the Taiwan Strait in a move that officials in Taipei said was a
threat to regional peace and a danger to air safety. The new route between
Hong Kong and Shanghai would track just inside the Chinese side of the unofficial
dividing line through the middle of the Taiwan Strait, an area that both
sides have mostly avoided since the 1950s.
China's Ability to Sustain War By Andrei Chang
(United Press International, Jan. 4, 2008) Should a conflict break out across
the Taiwan Strait, Taiwanese forces would face a grave shortage of ammunition
after just seven days of fighting. Even though China has a much greater
stockpile of ammunition than Taiwan, it would also encounter similar problems
in a sustained conflict.
China Agreed US Could Sell Taiwan Arms, Says Carter
(Agence France Presse,
Dec. 6, 2007) Former US president Jimmy Carter said yesterday that when ties
with China were re-established 28 years ago, Beijing had privately
acknowledged that it understood the United States would keep selling arms to
Taiwan. '(Deng) agreed that our statement to settle the Taiwan issue
peacefully would not be contradicted publicly by China and he understood that
we would sell defensive weapons to Taiwan after (a US-Taiwan defense) treaty
expired,' Mr Carter said.
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