Taiwan’s National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST) says there was no security breach after local media reports that some of its equipment had been repaired in China. That came from an institute press release on Wednesday.
The institute says it found faults in optical equipment used to calibrate the domestically-developed Hsiung Feng III missiles. The equipment was then sent back to its Swiss manufacturer Leica for repairs. After it arrived back in Taiwan, the institute discovered that it had been shipped from China’s Shandong Province.
According to the vendor, Leica’s Asia maintenance center is located in Shandong so that is where the equipment was sent.
The institute says it ran a security check on the returned equipment to make sure no malware had been installed. It adds that it removed memory cards from the devices prior to sending them back for repairs.
Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) said on Wednesday that national security is of the utmost importance and any suspicions of unlawful or harmful conduct have to be investigated seriously.
The Hsiung Feng III are medium range supersonic missiles developed by the institute. They are believed to have an operating range of 400 km and a maximum range of 1,500 km.