Taiwan says it remains vigilant over China's imagery — South China Morning Post
Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense said it would not relax its vigilance over satellite reconnaissance and data collection by mainland China. The statement came after China's state broadcaster CCTV released a video featuring detailed images of the island taken by the commercial Jilin-1 remote-sensing satellite constellation, the South China Morning Post reports.
Defense Minister Wellington Koo Li-hsiung told reporters that the ministry would take early-warning and response measures. According to him, this includes concealment, mobility and dispersal of forces to ensure the operational security of the armed forces.
Video featuring Taiwan's landmarks
CCTV released a 42-second video in which images of the entire island are interspersed with footage of the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, the National Palace Museum, Taipei Dome, the Port of Taipei, Sun Moon Lake and Yushan Mountain. The video was captioned with wording portraying Taiwan as a province of China. It also claimed that every street is clearly visible from space.
Beijing considers Taiwan part of China and says reunification by force is possible. At the same time, Taiwan has its own self-government. Most countries, including the United States, do not recognize Taiwan as an independent state; however, Washington opposes a forcible takeover of the island and supplies it with weapons.
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Satellite surveillance capabilities
The published material was the second consecutive instance in which Jilin-1 imagery was used in Beijing's information campaign around October 25, the date marking the end of Japanese colonial rule over Taiwan in 1945. Last year, Beijing officially designated it Taiwan Restoration Day.
According to Chinese reports, the publicly released images had a resolution of less than one meter, making it possible to distinguish street layouts and other objects. Joseph Wen, a researcher at Taiwan's Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said Jilin-1 demonstrates Beijing's ability to conduct highly detailed surveillance of nearly any part of Taiwan. At the same time, the ability to maintain continuous surveillance depends on the number and orbital configuration of satellites, the type of sensors, and the speed of image transmission and processing.
Wen added that prolonged surveillance could provide militarily useful information, including on changes in the number of vehicles near military bases. Premier Cho Jung-tai said Taipei is strengthening its defenses through regular and special budgets, while also responding to external threats through legal and technological means.
