The military showed off its missile defense system to the media for the first time yesterday, but said it badly needed more advanced weaponry to counter the threat posed by China.
The defense ministry opened one of its three Patriot missile bases to reporters in a rare move apparently aimed at trying to win legislative support for the controversial US$18 billion special arms-purchase budget.
"The missiles can be used to shoot down incoming enemy aircraft, ballistic and cruise missiles," General Ku Feng-tai (谷風泰), head of missile command, told reporters.
The military said it was confident in the ability of the three PAC-2 anti-missile batteries, but that it needed more advanced versions to match the increasing number of ballistic missiles China had targeted at Taiwan.
"The foremost threat from the Chinese communists is their some 600 ballistic missiles," said Admiral Chen Pang-chih (陳邦治), head of the political warfare bureau.
The ministry estimated the number of ballistic missiles aimed at Taiwan would reach 800 by the end of 2006.
The military plans to acquire six PAC-3 batteries to protect the central and southern parts of the country, and to upgrade the existing PAC-2s.
Each PAC-3 will be able to track 18 targets simultaneously and cover a defense area of 400km2, Ku said.
The PAC-2s in place are designed to track nine targets simultaneously and cover an area of 225km2.
They have successfully destroyed mock targets in two live-fire drills since they were put into service in 1996 to protect the greater Taipei area.
Yesterday's display came as the nation debates whether to spend US$18 billion on an arms package made up of eight conventional submarines, 12 P-3C submarine-hunting aircraft and the six PAC-3 missile systems.
On Tuesday, pan-blue camp lawmakers prevented the special budget from being reviewed by legislative committees, delaying any passage until after December's legislative elections.
Critics of the deal warn the hefty spending could provoke China. Others say the government would be forced to incur more debt or cut social welfare and education budgets.
US President George W. Bush approved the arms package in April 2001 as part of Washington's most comprehensive arms package to the country since 1992.
Meanwhile, the Anti-Arms Purchase Alliance will hold an anti-arms rally tomorrow in Kaohsiung. The alliance held a rally in Taipei on Sept. 25, where it was joined by thousands of protesters including many pan-blue politicians.
In related news, Minister of National Defense Lee Jye (
Lee was responding to a media report that a large fleet of Chinese warplanes flew very close to the sensitive center line in an act of provocation.
The media report quoted US sources as saying that more than 10 squadrons of Su-27, Su-30, J-8 and J-10 jet fighters and other aircraft flew more than 30 sorties close to the center line. The number of sorties broke the single-day record set in 1998, the report said.
Taiwanese aircraft scrambled to monitor the Chinese operations, the report said, adding that the situation became tense at one point.
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