According to reports, the Navy is bringing in private forces to investigate the hydrology and topography of "important beaches."
As an island nation, Taiwan needs to be aware of its strategic position at all times. The Navy is bringing in civilian forces to investigate the hydrology and topography of "important beaches."
In the past, this kind of information was measured on the spot by the military itself. In the future, it will rely on private forces to collect water depth and topographic data near the coast, using fishing boats equipped with multi-beam sounding equipment and rented civil aircraft equipped with optical radar.
Why do we need to always measure coastal topography?
The coast is not fixed. Currents, waves and typhoons may change the water depth and topography of the coast. This information may affect maritime and coastal military operations.
The Chinese military has already been conducting hydrographic surveys. For example, one of the missions of the Navy's "Daguan Warship" is to conduct surveying and hydrographic data collection in the surrounding waters of the Taiwan Strait. Public information from the Harbor Bureau of the Ministry of Transportation also shows that the Navy's 192 Fleet will conduct hydrographic surveys.
So why are we asking for private sector cooperation this time?
First of all, lack of manpower must be one of the factors; and in recent years, the Ministry of National Defense has been actively seeking civilian cooperation to complete multiple project tasks.
The public explanation for the "National Defense Innovation Office" mentioned: Since emerging private technologies have the advantages of short research and development cycles and rapid iteration and update, one of its tasks is to "introduce mature domestic and foreign private technologies and products."
This unprecedented first-of-its-kind survey cooperation involves the integration of existing private ships, aerial platforms, and surveying and mapping technologies into the collection of hydrological data.
These divisions of labor can also be seen in other national defense projects, such as military-standard drones. The Ministry of National Defense has publicly stated that the Chinese Academy of Sciences is responsible for research and development, and then releases "non-core smart technologies" to private manufacturing.
This method of collecting intelligence is also known as "crowd outsourcing", which uses private resources to collect available information and data, and gather information to enhance defense strength.
Some people may ask: Will there be confidentiality issues in doing so?
As mentioned above, what is added this time are ships, aerial platforms and surveying and mapping technology that are already available in the private sector. According to news quotes from senior military officials, civilians are responsible for "front-end physical data collection."
Subsequent data integration and parts involving military tactics and anti-landing planning will still be handled by the military.
The Navy itself has a hierarchical management system for hydrographic data. Data such as water depth and coastline will also be classified into "ordinary", "secret" and "confidential" according to their characteristics, so there is no need to worry too much.
We are very happy to see this kind of cooperation, especially when the Taiwan Strait has faced China's use of scientific research ships and other methods to carry out gray area harassment in recent years. We also need to use private energy to counterattack and strengthen defense.
As an island country, Taiwan needs to understand its strategic position at all times.
Coastal environments are never static. The coast changes, the water depth changes, and the topography of the ocean floor changes.
For defense, knowing what one's coast looks like now is an important basic task in itself.
