US leaks say Taiwan’s air force is ill-prepared for China attack: report

The Washington Post said recent internet leaks of confidential information show that Taiwan officials doubt their air force can accurately detect incoming missiles
Tensions between Taiwan and China have increased of late amid Chinese military manoeuvres

Taiwan

dpa

Published: 2:59am, 16 Apr 2023

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Taiwan’s air force is vulnerable if mainland China decides to attack the island, a US media report said on Saturday citing leaks from US intelligence.

The Washington Post newspaper said it had scoured the leaks of confidential information on the internet and they show that Taiwan officials doubt that the air force can accurately detect incoming missiles.

Only a little over half of Taiwan’s jets are conflict-ready, the Post added, meaning mainland China would have much better chances than previously believed to establish air superiority.

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The leaked documents also say that Pentagon analysts consider Taiwan’s missile warning drills insufficient, the newspaper added.

Tensions between Taiwan and mainland China have increased of late amid Chinese military manoeuvres. Beijing claims the democratic nation as part of its country, but Taiwan has had an independent government for more than 70 years.

Dozens of leaks from US intelligence have been circulating on the web for weeks. A 21-year-old soldier, Jack Teixeira, is suspected of putting the information into a chat room which was then copied. He was arrested on Thursday.

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The US government has warned that the documents could have been manipulated and gave no comment when contacted by the Post.

Taiwan’s defence ministry said it respected outside opinions about its military but that its systems were “carefully constructed on the basis of hostile threats.”