On the afternoon on Jan. 11, a newly-upgraded F-16V fighter jet piloted by 27-year-old Captain Chen Yi (陳奕) disappeared from radar screens about 30 minutes after it took off from southwestern Chiayi air base on a routine training mission.
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Military at peacetime readiness
NORMAL STATUS: The military adjusts the number of troops on alert depending on the security situation around Taiwan, the deputy minister of national defense said
Staff writer, with CNA
The nation’s armed forces remain at “normal combat readiness status,” despite tensions across the Taiwan Strait and a foreign magazine calling Taiwan “the most dangerous place on Earth,” Deputy Minister of National Defense Chang Che-ping (張哲平) said yesterday.
The military continuously adjusts the number of troops on alert depending on developments in the security situation around Taiwan, Chang told a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee.
No defense alert during US talks: MND
‘MINIMAL RISK’: Chinese military activity near the Nanpeng Islands in the South China Sea was not designated ‘exercises,’ a national defense official said
By Jake Chung / Staff writer, with CNA
No air defense missile systems had been activated before a US delegation arrived in Taipei on Wednesday, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said yesterday.
The delegation is comprised of former US senator Chris Dodd, former US deputy secretaries of state Richard Armitage and James Steinberg, and US Department of State Taiwan Coordination Office Director Dan Biers.
On the day of the delegation’s arrival, China’s Maritime Safety Administration announced a six-day live-fire military exercise, conducted daily from 8am to 6pm, near the Nanpeng Islands (南澎列島) in the South China Sea.