US bombers fly close to Taiwan on East China Sea mission

May 4, 2020October 21, 2020 Phillip Charlier 0 Comment Anderson Air Force Base, B-1B Lancer, East China Sea, South China Sea

Two US B-1B long-range bomber aircraft passed close to Taiwan’s Aircraft Identification Zone to the northeast today, while a midair refueling aircraft flew by the south of the island, according to United Daily News. The United Daily News report showed the flight path as reported on Twitter by @AircraftSpots showing that two B-1B bombers with the call signs LANDO 01 & 02 flew from Anderson Base Guam into the East China Sea via the Miyaki Strait today, May 4. USAF

Military Affairs

May 1, 2020May 1, 2020 Phillip Charlier 0 Comment defense, South China Sea, US Air Force

Two US Air Force B-1B Lancer bombers flew a sortie into East China Sea north-east of Taiwan before turning towards Guam today, May 1, reported Aircraft Spots on Twitter. This follows a sortie by two of the supersonic bombers over the South China Sea, just 2 days ago, according to a press release from Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam, Hawaii, yesterday. ” This operation demonstrates the U.S. Air Force’s dynamic force employment model in line with the National Defense Strategy’s

Military Affairs

April 27, 2020April 27, 2020 Phillip Charlier 1 Comment Anping Class Coast Guard Patrol Ship, Taiwan Coast Guard

The first twin-hull high-speed Anping-class coast guard cutter was launched in Kaohsiung today, April 27, and is designed with both peacetime and wartime capabilities. The 600-ton vessel is a coast guard version of the ROC Navy’s Tuo Chiang class stealth missile corvette, dubbed Taiwan’s “carrier killer” ship. Fitted with a water cannon, and the multi-barrel Zhenhai rocket system, the ships are fitted for use in peacetime coastal and border defense operations. However the ships can also carry the same anti-land

Navy personnel from a ship where sailors tested positive for COVID-19 in Taiwan

Military Affairs

April 18, 2020April 19, 2020 Phillip Charlier 0 Comment COVID-19, Palau, ROC Navy

Three navy crew members have tested positive for COVID-19 after departing Taiwan February 21, and stopping only at the coronavirus-free island of Palau more than one month ago. The three young sailors, all in their 20s served on board one of three ships to make the annual oceanic training voyage, returning to the Port of Kaohsiung April 9. This year’s voyage was shortened to 48 days due to the coronavirus situation preventing visits to some countries. Since the ships had

Military Affairs

April 12, 2020April 12, 2020 Phillip Charlier 2 Comments PLA, ROC military, US Military

China’s aircraft carrier Liaoning entered the Pacific Ocean via the Miyako Strait north of Taiwan and is heading south towards the South China Sea, according to the Ministry of National Defense (MND), today, April 12. The maneuver comes after a range of movements by Chinese and American aircraft and ships since April 10. On the morning of April 10, six PLA aircraft flew from the coast of China via the Bashi Channel south of Taiwan into the Pacific Ocean in

Tanks rumble down a street in Yilan County, March 25, 2020

Military Affairs

March 26, 2020March 26, 2020 Phillip Charlier 0 Comment military exercises

Taiwan staged drills around the nation today, on the third day of a large-scale military exercise designed to test combat readiness to repel an invasion. There were tanks on the streets, but no citizens felt threatened: there was no Tank Man attempting to stop the soldiers from carrying out their mission. “The drills were designed to test the combat readiness of our forces and their responses to an all-out invasion by the enemy,” the Ministry of Defense (MOD) said. The

USS Barry fires missile in the South China Sea

Military Affairs

March 24, 2020March 24, 2020 Phillip Charlier 1 Comment 7th Fleet, South China Sea, US-navy

The US Navy’s 7th Fleet announced today that it had fired a missile during live fire exercises in the the South China Sea, and pundits are interpreting it as a strong signal to China. The 7th Fleet announced on Facebook today that the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer, USS Barry, launched a missile, and conducted combat information center operations in support of security and stability in the Indo-Pacific. The message was hash-tagged #NavyReadiness. Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislator Wang Ting-yu

American Air Force B-52 long-range bomber

Military Affairs

February 13, 2020February 13, 2020 Phillip Charlier 0 Comment geo-politics, geo-strategy, military exercises

American B-52 long-range bombers, and a C-130J flew east and west of Taiwan yesterday, February 12, just two days after a Chinese bomber crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait. According to Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense (MOD), two US Air Force B-52s skirted Taiwan’s air-defense zone off the east coast of Taiwan moving north to south, while an MC-130J flew in the same direction via the Taiwan Strait to the west between Taiwan and China. The flights come just

A Chinese PLA H-6 bomber is flanked by an F-16 of the ROC Air Force

Military Affairs

February 11, 2020February 11, 2020 Phillip Charlier 0 Comment Chinese Communist Party, PLA, ROC military, Wuhan coronavirus

The People’s Liberation Army sent aircraft to circle Taiwan two days in a row, starting yesterday, February 9, provoking Taiwan into scrambling armed F-16 fighters to monitor the flights, and to broadcast a warning after a PLA H-6 bomber crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait today, February 10. President Tsai Ing-wen said via Facebook that choosing military actions during the virus outbreak made no sense, and was unnecessary, urging the Chinese government to concentrate efforts on quickly controlling

Mr Wu's shed, where he attempted to cut open a military rocket

Military Affairs

October 21, 2019October 21, 2019 Phillip Charlier 0 Comment unexploded ordnance, Yilan County

An elderly man in Yilan County was killed after mistaking a military rocket for a metal pipe, and attempting to cut it with a saw, yesterday, October 20. Mr Wu, 72, picked up the 150-centimeter-long cylindrical object after it was discarded by fishermen at the Gengfang fishing port in Toucheng Township. Investigators believe that it was most likely caught in a trawl net, and discarded as ordinary garbage. Mr Wu, a retired fisherman, collected recyclable materials around the port to

phosphorous bomb burning in New Taipei City

Military Affairs

July 17, 2019July 17, 2019 Phillip Charlier 0 Comment New Taipei City, unexploded ordnance, world war two

Hot weather is suspected to have caused a piece of unexploded World War Two ordnance to begin emitting smoke in a residential backyard in Danshui District, New Taipei City yesterday, July 16. At around 5:00pm, the 56-year-old owner of the house called 119 after finding a bomb embedded beside a path on a slope behind the house emitting a pall of white smoke. Firefighters evacuated nearby residents and cordoned off an area to a radius of 90 meters around the

Military Affairs

US bombers fly close to Taiwan on East China Sea mission

US Air Force sends supersonic bombers for missions over the South China Sea

New coast guard ships designed to double up as missile corvettes in wartime

Three Navy crew test positive for COVID-19 after months at sea

China aircraft carrier group east of Taiwan on third day of tit for tat military maneuvers

Taiwan displays military preparedness with exercise that sees tanks on the streets

US Navy fires missile during live fire exercises in the South China Sea

US Air Force conducts flybys around Taiwan after China’s provocative air maneuvers

In the midst of virus battle, China launches provocative military flights around Taiwan

Yilan man killed by unexploded military rocket

Unexploded WWII phosphorus bomb ignites in New Taipei City