Parts for a Taiwanese missile system were sent to China for repairs last week, sparking concern about potential vulnerabilities in the island’s defense supply chain.
An optical component used in Taiwan’s advanced Hsiung Feng III supersonic missile system was sent to China by its European manufacturer for repairs and then returned to Taiwan to be reintroduced to the missiles.
The National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST), which developed the missile,
stated that the component was shipped to Switzerland-based Leica, the company that originally supplied it but that Leica then sent the component to the company’s maintenance center in China, according to the BBC.
NCSIST removed memory cards from the component before sending it to Europe and ran information security checks on the device after its return, but officials raised concerns over the military’s contract management following the incident.
“Taiwan must be more strict and careful in its contract management,” said Su Tzu-yun of the NCSIST, according to the BBC. “Of course, we would not want such equipment to be sent to China for repair.”
The component was a theodolite, which is a type of precision instrument used to measure angles and planes between two points and assist in launching the missile. Had the memory cards been left in the component, therefore, Chinese workers may have gained access to information on the positioning of Taiwan’s missiles.
The NCSIST stated that it was taking steps to ensure that sensitive equipment wouldn’t be sent to mainland China for maintenance in the future.
It isn’t the first time that issues concerning Taiwan’s missile systems have raised concerns. Three workers at two Taiwanese missile suppliers were handed prison sentences of up to 10 years for sourcing products from China that they claimed came from the United States, according to the BBC.
Communist Spies Seek to Weaken and Destroy Taiwan
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which rules China as a single-party state, alleges that Taiwan is a breakaway territory that must be united with the mainland by any means necessary. Top CCP leadership has
threatened war over the issue and
led a campaign of coercion, infiltration, and intimidation aimed at destabilizing the island’s government.
However, Taiwan has never been controlled by the CCP and is a self-governed democracy with a thriving market economy.
Relatedly, there are national security implications concerning a device that could store sensitive military data being sent to communist China for repair. The missile component incident comes amid heightened concerns about CCP espionage throughout the world and the regime’s apparent
commitment to conquering Taiwan and ending its de facto independence.
CCP spying in Taiwan is nothing new, and as recently as 2019 the Taiwan National Security Bureau
estimated that the CCP had placed 5,000 spies in Taiwan, including many that had infiltrated the military.
Just this week, Taiwanese officials
announced that they arrested three active duty air force officers for allegedly spying on behalf of the CCP.
In November 2022, Taiwan
arrested an army colonel who had accepted bribes from CCP agents in exchange for signing a pledge to surrender to Chinese communist forces in the event of a war.
In June 2022, Taiwanese authorities
arrested two high-ranking officers for a similar scheme aimed at benefiting the Chinese regime’s Central Military Commission.
Prior to that, it was
reported that Taiwanese leadership had discovered and dismantled a spy ring that had infiltrated the highest echelons of its defense and security apparatus, including the security detail of Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen.
Tsai has
vowed that Taiwan will defend its freedom and democratic way of life from communist aggression but maintains the island government is committed to seeking a peaceful resolution to cross-strait tensions.
“War is never an option for solving a problem,” Tsai
said during a Jan. 1 speech. “Only by boosting stable development in the region together through dialogue and collaboration can we bring security and happiness to more people.
“It is the common responsibilities of the two sides across the Taiwan Strait to maintain stability in the region.”
