Chinese spy ships, aircraft under strict monitoring: MND

Media reports said China’s East Sea Fleet and South Sea Fleet simultaneously sent spy ships to gather intelligence in the open seas northeast and south of Taiwan when the military was carrying out computer war games July 16-20 as part of the Han Kuang 28 training exercise.

According to the reports, the MND judged the vessels to be normal ships on regular patrol missions and consequently did not begin monitoring them closely until senior military officers spotted them.

However, the ministry rebutted the reports as untrue, insisting that the military kept close tabs on all foreign ships and aircraft spotted in areas around Taiwan during the Han Kuang drill period, including those from China.

“During the computer war games period, our Communications Development Office strictly monitored all targets moving in the waters surrounding Taiwan in accordance with standard operating procedures,” the ministry said in a press statement.

Stressing that the Han Kuang computer war games were conducted on a closed-circuit network, the statement added that none of the electronic information involved in the war games was likely to have leaked.