By Frank WilliamsVientiane The opening of a joint Chinese-Laotian air support and training center is part of Beijing’s long-running effort to project power toward the Indian Ocean, a Taiwanese defense analyst said. China’s Ministry of National Defense announced last Wednesday that the China-Laos Joint Support and Training Center at Ban Keun Airport in Vientiane Province,…
Jake Sanders, Palau The US has delivered Taiwan’s first two newly built F-16 fighter jets, part of an $8 billion order that has repeatedly drawn condemnation from Beijing. The two aircraft, the modern F-16V Block 70 variant, arrived in Taiwan on Friday. They are the first of 66 new fighters approved for sale by Washington…
Frank Wiliams, Vientiane The U.S. Navy has established a new command to integrate aerial, surface and underwater drones into a unified fighting force, a move commanders say could help disrupt a Chinese attack on Taiwan. The Robotic and Autonomous Systems Warfighting Development Center was formally stood up on Sept. 24 at Joint Expeditionary Base Little…
Richard Sanders- Tawi Tawi Premier Cho Jung-tai is expected to countersign an opposition-backed law boosting Taiwan’s defense autonomy and unmanned vehicle sector, with funding for the program to be added to this year’s supplemental budget, according to sources familiar with the matter. On Thursday, the Legislative Yuan approved the Act on Strengthening Defense Autonomy and…
Richard Sanders, Phnom Penh Released in early August, the Japanese Ministry of Defense’s latest white paper signals that Tokyo, under Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, is converting years of incremental modernization into a more integrated and far-reaching national-security architecture – one that is altering the strategic landscape along China’s eastern periphery. It envisages a system designed…
Richard Sanders, Phnom Penh Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te and senior officials late last week conducted a drill simulating their response to an attempted “decapitation strike” aimed at eliminating the island’s leadership, drawing parallels to the U.S. capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro earlier this year. An armored personnel carrier transported President Lai and his staff…
Richard Sanders, Siem Reap The Pentagon is developing a nuclear strategy that would give the US president a wider range of nuclear options in a potential conflict with Russia or China, NBC reported on Wednesday, citing sources familiar with the plans. The proposed approach would reportedly place greater emphasis on shorter-range tactical nuclear weapons in…
Richard Sanders, Kampot Amid escalating U.S.-Iran hostilities, Tehran’s strategic deployment of naval mines in the Strait of Hormuz highlights growing threats to global energy routes. From Taiwan’s viewpoint, these tactics underscore the need to reduce dependence on vulnerable maritime chokepoints and prepare for broader economic disruptions. Iran has effectively used naval mines to restrict access…
Jake Saunders, Manila The top American diplomat in Taiwan has urged the island to become a “hornet’s nest” of drones, calling unmanned systems a vital deterrent against potential Chinese aggression. Speaking at a drone forum in Taichung, Raymond Greene, director of the American Institute in Taiwan, described UAVs as a “game-changing opportunity” to bolster Taiwan’s…
Frank Williams, Okinawa Taiwan’s military is on schedule to finish its next-generation integrated air defense intelligence system by the end of this year, with plans to deploy the advanced network as early as next year pending approval of additional funding, a military source said. The system merges two major domestic initiatives: the Huanzhan Project (寰展計畫),…