Taipei Mayor Chiang Wanan recently proposed the idea of relocating Songshan Airport, triggering discussions from all walks of life. Su Ziyun, researcher and director of the Institute of Defense Strategy and Resources of the Institute of National Defense and Security, said in an interview today (17th) that the Songji mainly serves the economy in peacetime and the military in wartime. It is dual-use, both military and civilian. Fighters taking off from the Songji can enter the northern seas about 5 minutes faster than the Hsinchu base, striving for prime time for air defense. National defense is the most fundamental value of the Songji, and the economic benefits are additional value-added effects.
Su Ziyun said that in terms of national defense, Songji is first of all an important aircraft take-off and landing site in the capital area when responding to emergencies. Regardless of disasters or military defense, it is a very important take-off and landing site or transfer site, which can give the national military flying force more tactical flexibility; secondly, the Songshan Base Command of the Air Force (Songzhi Department) supports the Fokker 50 executive plane carried by the president and government dignitaries, playing the role of the Capital Airport; third, including U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth Duckworth, the special planes of the U.S. Senators and Representatives coming to Taiwan have also been grounded. These are broad national defense and national security needs.
In response to some comments that there are no fighter jets taking off and landing at Songji, Su Ziyun said that Songji is an important transfer and landing site. It cannot be said that it is not important that Songji does not deploy fighter jets at ordinary times. This is because economics is the main priority. He pointed out that Songji is about 66 kilometers away from the Hsinchu base. Based on the fighter's cruising speed of about 900 kilometers per hour and about 15 kilometers per minute, it will take about 4 to 5 minutes for the fighters from the Hsinchu base to fly this distance. If the fighter jets take off from Songji during wartime, the fighter planes will already be in the sky and enter the northern airspace from the sea to Pengjiayu, which can gain about 5 minutes of early warning and reaction time. He said that 5 minutes may seem insignificant, "but during air defense, these 5 minutes are very important golden time."
As for the role of Songji in the central garrison, Su Ziyun said that Songji is located between Dazhi and Hengshan, but this is only a small combat position. More importantly, in the entire area from Keelung, Taipei to Yilan, Songji is an important aviation fulcrum deployed in wartime to defend northern Taiwan and the center.
Regarding the mention of the Wanjun Plan by the Blue Committee, Su Ziyun pointed out that the Wanjun Plan is only secondary to the issue of loosing the plane. Its essence is to protect the president and other government officials from entering the Hengshan Command Post and the Yuanshan Command Post. He explained that the Wanjun Plan emphasizes allowing commanders to enter the cave and maintain the integrity of the chain of command during wartime. It has little to do with whether to take the plane or not.
Su Ziyun said that all walks of life should pay more attention to the value-added effect of Songji. Currently, Songji has about 5 million trips a year, of which about 3 million are international routes. It can generate at least NT$60 billion in tourism benefits a year. Therefore, the considerations of whether to relocate are different from those 10 years ago, especially since Songji is now juxtaposed with Japan's Haneda, South Korea's Gimpo and China's Shanghai Hongqiao Airport, known as Northeast Asia's golden four-corner flight circle.
As for whether Songji should be relocated, Su Ziyun said that it is not impossible to discuss, but from a global perspective, a capital airport like Songji, which can reach the city center 20 minutes after landing, can have great economic effects. He also agreed that countries generally operate dual airports, such as Tokyo, with one closer to the city and one closer to the suburbs. He believes that the more important thing about pine machines is their daily economic benefits, which are also more convincing to the public.
