Tainan, southern Taiwan, July 14 (CNA) President Chen Shui-bian on Friday commissioned a wing of locally developed Indigenous Defense Fighters (IDFs) at an air base in Tainan, southern Taiwan.
Addressing air force staff present at Friday's commissioning ceremony, Chen said Taiwan needs to maintain a defensive force to check any attempt by mainland China to invade the island. He noted that since his inauguration on May 20, he has on many occasions sincerely extended an olive branch to Beijing in the hope of sparing the two sides of the Taiwan Strait from the agonies of war. "But as mainland China still refuses to renounce the use of force against Taiwan and even continues to increase missile deployments targeting Taiwan, all air force personnel must beef up training and upgrade combat capability to deter any possible mainland Chinese air attack," Chen urged.
The president further said the inauguration of the second IDF wing does not mark the peak of the air force's combat capability but rather the beginning of an upgraded air force. "We have yet to reach the peak of our combat capability. Instead, this is just the beginning of elevating our combat power," Chen said, adding that only with top-notch training can the air force build up tight air defenses and deter an attack by the mainland.