E-Paper
Is a key part of Taiwan anti-ship missile in China for repair: What report says
China-Taiwan Conflict: This comes as China's air incursions into Taiwan's air defence zone nearly doubled in 2022.
A crucial component of Taiwan's anti-ship missile has been sent to China, a report claimed. Theodolite which is an optical instrument of the Hsiung-Feng III anti-ship missile has been sent to Beijing for repair, South China Morning Post reported.
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The report cited Taiwan's state-owned corporation- National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST)- which said that the ptical instrument was bought from Swiss company Leica and was sent back to the manufacturer for repair recently. Its' memory cards were removed before sending it back, the report further claimed. But before it was returned, the unit was sent to Taiwan from an airport in China's Shandong province.
As Leica's maintenance centre is in the Shandong province, therefore, it was sent for repair there, NCSIST explained, adding, that it ran a security check on the device and ensured that no malware was installed.
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Following the incident, Dr Su Tzu-yun from Taiwan's Institute of Defence Security Research told BBC that instruments like these were not direct missile components warning that the Taiwanese government should be more careful nevertheless.
This comes as China's air incursions into Taiwan's air defence zone nearly doubled in 2022. China claims Taiwan as its own.
