Top Stories
Philippine coast guard and marines drive Chinese militia ship and 22 boats from Kota Island
TaiwanDefence · 1h ago · 2 min read
US Army activates fourth multi-domain task force to target Indo-Pacific defences
TaiwanDefence · 2h ago · 2 min read
US and Philippine forces hold first joint air and missile defence planning exercise
TaiwanDefence · 3h ago · 2 min read
Career troops paying to quit Taiwan's military early rose more than 20-fold since 2018, lawmaker says
TaiwanDefence · 4h ago · 3 min read
Okinawa assembly demands overhaul of US forces pact after Marine murder arrest
TaiwanDefence · 5h ago · 3 min read
Cross-Strait
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Four China Coast Guard ships enter Kinmen restricted waters on eve of Taiwan's National Day
Taiwanese patrol boats shadowed the ships one-on-one and broadcast warnings in rough seas until all four left about two hours later.
TaiwanDefence · 10h ago · 2 min read
China sends 19 aircraft on joint combat readiness patrol near Taiwan on eve of National Day
Thirteen of the sorties crossed the Taiwan Strait median line as PLA jets and drones worked with Chinese warships, Taiwan's defence ministry said, the second such patrol this week.
TaiwanDefence · 13h ago · 2 min read
Navy
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Hai Kun submarine stays docked as year-end delivery target nears and experts split over its control system
With about two and a half months left on CSBC's year-end pledge, a former navy adviser says Taiwan's prototype submarine needs a new platform management system; an analyst says debugging is enough.
TaiwanDefence · 7h ago · 3 min read
Japan launches seventh Taigei-class submarine Shogei in Kobe
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries floated the diesel-electric boat for the Maritime Self-Defense Force on 8 October as Tokyo weighs propulsion choices for a larger VLS-armed follow-on design.
TaiwanDefence · 1d ago · 2 min read
Analysis & Commentary
All analysis →TaiwanDefence
Taiwan's F-16V fleet faces two more years without its crash-avoidance safety net and its standoff glide bomb
A defence ministry report on 9 October 2026 puts both the Auto GCAS retrofit and AGM-154C deliveries at end-2028, leaving the core fighter fleet short of both.
TaiwanDefence
Matsu's new cable and what Taiwan's communications backups have actually kept running
The Taiwan-Matsu No. 2 cable failed again on 6 October 2026. Three earlier outages show microwave backups kept phones working, but not everything, and repairs take weeks.
TaiwanDefence
Taiwan's new defence committee leaders set up a session-long fight over drones, manpower and delays
In convener elections on 8 October 2026, the DPP drew the defence ministry's agenda while the KMT's Hsu Chiao-hsin put manpower and arms delays first.
Army
More →Career troops paying to quit Taiwan's military early rose more than 20-fold since 2018, lawmaker says
KMT legislator Ma Wen-chun says compensation-liable early exits of volunteer officers and NCOs hit 846 in 2025, while front-line combat units remain below 80 percent strength.
TaiwanDefence · 4h ago · 3 min read
Taiwan's first 500 purchased Stinger missiles to start arriving this month after years of delay
12h ago
ArmyTaiwan's Volcano minelayers to arrive in a single batch next year as training mines come first
2d ago
ArmyTaiwan tightens conscription physical standards as exemption rate set to halve
2 Oct 2026
Air Force
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Koo says more F-16Vs due this year, denies EW ballast-weight claim
At the Legislative Yuan, Defence Minister Wellington Koo said more than two Block 70 jets will arrive in 2026 and that electronic-warfare suites are in active software-hardware integration, not replaced by ballast.
TaiwanDefence · 6d ago · 2 min read
Industry
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Taiwan more than doubles drone R&D subsidies, with AIDC's jam-resistant cargo drone taking the top award
The economy ministry approved 27 drone projects worth about NT$780 million, led by an AIDC heavy-lift drone designed to keep flying without GPS and under signal interference.
TaiwanDefence · 6h ago · 2 min read
Lai asks visiting US lawmakers to move from arms sales to joint development and production of drones
8h ago
IndustryTsai tells Stanford audience Taiwan is a defence and tech partner under Chinese military pressure
20h ago
IndustryLai presses US lawmakers to move from arms sales to joint drone and AI development with Taiwan
1d ago
Indo-Pacific
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South Korean vice defence minister makes first Japan visit in 16 years
Lee Doo-hee's Tokyo talks with Atsushi Ando reaffirmed bilateral and trilateral coordination against North Korean missiles and named AI and unmanned systems as areas for defence exchanges.
TaiwanDefence · 50m ago · 2 min read
Philippine coast guard and marines drive Chinese militia ship and 22 boats from Kota Island
1h ago
Indo-PacificUS Army activates fourth multi-domain task force to target Indo-Pacific defences
2h ago
Indo-PacificUS and Philippine forces hold first joint air and missile defence planning exercise
3h ago