INTELLIGENCE GATHERING:Wednesday’s live-fire drill was shelved after a Chinese coast guard vessel was detected near Orchid Island, the defense minister said
Taipei Times
Date: Oct 07, 2016
By: Aaron Tu, Chen Hsien-yi and Jake Chung / Staff reporters, with staff writer
The military’s sudden cancelation of a precision weapons strike exercise on Wednesday was a
Personnel stand by a Sky Bow II missile launcher on Wednesday. The planned live test was canceled at the last minute after a Chinese Coast Guard ship was detected in international waters to the southeast of Orchid Island. Photo: CNA
cautionary measure to prevent China from gathering intelligence about Taiwan’s missile capabilities, Minister of National Defense Feng Shih-kuan (馮世寬) said yesterday.
The live-fire exercise plan was to have a Patriot II surface-to-air missile intercept a locally developed Sky Bow II (天弓二型) missile, but it was called off after a Chinese coast guard ship was detected in international waters to the southeast of Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼).
Foreign and National Defense Committee legislators said that the ministry should come up with a solution rather than canceling exercises whenever Chinese ships or airplanes are in the region.
In response to Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Wang Ding-yu’s (王定宇) question on whether the ministry has alternative solutions when weapons containing sensitive information were to be used in an exercise, Deputy Chief of the General Staff Admiral Pu Tze-chun (蒲澤春) said that the ministry was still looking into such possibilities. [FULL STORY]