TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) appointed the former commander of a submarine unit to lead the military intelligence agency in charge of electronic warfare, reports said Friday.
Chao Chien-kuo (趙建國) is a former commander of the Dutch-built Hai Lung submarine and of the 256th Submarine Squadron, the Liberty Times reported. Lai not only promoted him to vice admiral Wednesday, but also tapped him to head the Communication Development Office, a military department in charge of electronic warfare, signals intelligence, and communications technology.
The service’s tasks covered observation, surveillance, and monitoring electronic communications, including satellites. Because of the sensitive nature of its work, part of its budget was not listed under the public sections of the Ministry of National Defense budget, but kept secret.
Human intelligence was the responsibility of the Military Intelligence Bureau, a separate unit also under the ministry’s General Staff Headquarters.
The appointment of a former submarine commander was also expected to improve the morale of the military involved in Taiwan’s indigenous submarine project. The Narwhal was likely to face its first diving tests soon.
