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Taiwan
ChinaMilitary

Mainland China’s grip on Taiwan’s arsenal revealed by ‘incredible’ security blunder

  • Top Taiwanese military unit ‘totally in the dark’ after missile device sent to mainland for repairs
  • Security lapse shows military supply chain management, oversight must improve, analysts say

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A Taiwanese technology institute was ‘totally in the dark’ after a sensitive missile component was sent to mainland China for repairs. Photo: AFP
Lawrence Chungin Taipei
The revelation that a sensitive hi-tech device from one of Taiwan’s most powerful missiles was recently sent to the Chinese mainland for repairs has underscored Beijing’s hidden grip on the island’s arsenal, analysts said.
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It has also exposed the security risk Taiwan faces through its reliance on global logistics supply chains, and the paramount importance the island must place on ensuring the security of its highly sensitive military contracts and outsourcing agreements, the experts said.

Taiwan’s top military research unit recently confirmed that a theodolite, a precision optical instrument used for launch measurements for the island’s Hsiung-Feng III anti-ship missile, was shipped to its Swiss manufacturer Leica for repairs.

However, the device, which was purchased by the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST) – the island’s top weapons maker – from Leica in 2021, was returned to Taiwan from the eastern Chinese province of Shandong.

The incident, which was first reported by local media on January 4, alarmed the public and raised concerns over a possible data breach and security risks for the island.
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The NCSIST said that it had asked the sales agent to send the device to the Swiss company for repairs, but had no idea why it was sent back from an airport in Shandong.

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