DEFENSE/Defense Ministry confirms Chinese tank landing ship in waters north of Taiwan

Taipei, July 1 (CNA) The Ministry of National Defense (MND) on Tuesday confirmed the presence of a Chinese Type 072A landing ship -- a large tank carrier used for amphibious warfare -- in waters off northern Taiwan.

Local media reported Tuesday that a plane passenger spotted the Chinese amphibious warship shortly before landing at Taipei Songshan Airport on Friday.

According to the reports, the passenger took a photo of the vessel and later identified it as a Chinese Type 072A landing ship after using their coordinates to look it up. The ship was within 60 nautical miles (111 kilometers) of Keelung's coast.

The passenger said that no other ships were shadowing the Chinese vessel.

Type 072A landing ships have a displacement of 3,770 metric tons and can carry two medium helicopters and four landing craft.

According to former Air Force Institute of Technology officer Lin Yu-feng (林毓峯), the Type 072A can carry up to 10 tanks and 250 fully armed troops, making it a serious threat to Taiwan.

The amphibious warfare ships are usually seen in waters off Taiwan's east coast, making Friday's sighting a possible first, Lin said.

If troops from the ship landed in northern Taiwan, it would threaten numerous critical military sites, including the MND and the Joint Operations Command Center in Taipei's Dazhi District, Lin added.

When asked to comment, Navy Chief of Staff Chiu Chun-jung (邱俊榮) said the Navy closely monitored the Chinese vessel operating in waters north of Taiwan, using the military's joint intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems.

It did not issue a statement identifying the Type 072A landing ship, but instead categorized it as one of six Chinese warships detected near Taiwan on a map released the following day.

The MND typically avoids identifying specific types of Chinese warships and aircraft operating nearby, to avoid alarming the public.

Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the MND's Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the Navy typically dispatches vessels to shadow Chinese ships sailing near the edge of Taiwan's contiguous zone -- which extends 24 nautical miles from its shores -- or when a larger Chinese fleet is present, rather than scrambling warships every time a threat approaches.

This helps prevent "wearing down" Taiwan's defenses, Su said.