Fighter Jet Crash Draws Attention to Taiwan's Limited Runways

TaiwanPlus News

A minor fighter jet crash in Taiwan's outlying Penghu Islands is shedding light on the air force's lack of sufficient runways. Many are shared with civilian airports.

Transcript

00:00For the second time in a week, an indigenous defense fighter jet, or IDF,

00:04suffers a minor crash while attempting to land in the outlying islands of Penghu.

00:09The aircraft, the same one involved in both incidents,

00:12was carried off shortly after, with the pilot in good condition.

00:25Magong Airport in Penghu is a major operating base for Taiwan's military,

00:29with dozens of fighter jets stationed there and a group of Marines deployed on the main island.

00:34But because of the lack of space, the base's runway is also used for civilian travel.

00:40This latest crash, although cleared up quickly, affected more than two dozen flights.

00:44The issue is raising concern about how important infrastructure like runways

00:59are in the event of a war.

01:01If they're knocked out, Taiwan's fighter jets can't take off or land.

01:05Faced with the threat of invasion from China,

01:07Taiwan's air force would be critical to keeping the country safe from an enemy attack.

01:15Due to geography and complex terrain,

01:18Taiwan is finding it difficult to find more areas to build air bases

01:21and separate its military facilities from civilian use.

01:26But it could also prompt Taiwan's air force

01:28to train more on how to protect and maintain its limited airfields.

01:32But in Penghu, you need to build a second runway.

01:35It's not possible to build a second runway.

01:36But there are other ways.

01:37It's like a fast cleaners.

01:41When the roadway comes to a problem,

01:44the response is very fast.

01:46It's easy to take it away and clean it up.

01:50The roadway comes to clean it up.

01:53Practicing how to clear and repair runways

01:55was one element of last year's large-scale Hanguang military drills.

02:00But with back-to-back incidents affecting both military and civilian traffic,

02:04this may push the military to put more resources into protecting its runways.

02:09John Su and Jaime Okan for Taiwan Plus.

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