Taiwan has has successfully test-fired the prototype of an anti-ship missile which is being developed to boost Taipei's sea defences against China, a Chinese-language newspaper said yesterday.
"The military's Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology has successfully test-fired -- several times -- Hsiung Feng III anti-ship missile," the China Times daily quoted an unnamed military source as saying.
The tests began early last month at the Chiu Peng Missile Base in Pingtung County, southeast Taiwan. The missile was fired in the direction of the Pacific Ocean, and it corrected its course several times before hitting the target, the daily said.
According to the paper, the Chungshan institute began developing Hsiung Feng III 10 years ago and has been test-firing it in the last two years but has met difficulties. The breakthrough came last month and the test fire succeeded early last month.
Taiwan has kept developing Hsiung Feng III a secret because it is superior to the Sunburn supersonic anti-ship missiles China has acquired from Russia for use on its two Sovremenny destroyers, and also because Taiwan does not want to draw attention to Chungshan institute's developing Hsiung Feng IIE, which is rumoured to be a cruise missile.
Hsiung Feng III is the third generation of Taiwan's self-built Hsiung Feng-series anti-ship missiles.
Military analysts say the development of Hsiung Feng III can boost Taiwan's sea defenses against China.
"With upgraded speed and precision, Hsiung Feng III can accurately hit Chinese warships in the Taiwan Strait," Cheng Chih-wen, editor in chief of the Defence International monthly magazine.
"I think its range is between 150km 200km, longer than Hsiung Feng II's range of 120 kilometres, but the key point is its supersonic attack capability," he added.
Cheng said China has also been developing supersonic missiles but has not succeeded yet.
Taiwan is separated from China by the 120km-wide Taiwan Strait.
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
A total lunar eclipse, an astronomical event often referred to as a “blood moon,” would be visible to sky watchers in Taiwan starting just before midnight on Sunday night, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said. The phenomenon is also called “blood moon” due to the reddish-orange hue it takes on as the Earth passes directly between the sun and the moon, completely blocking direct sunlight from reaching the lunar surface. The only light is refracted by the Earth’s atmosphere, and its red wavelengths are bent toward the moon, illuminating it in a dramatic crimson light. Describing the event as the most important astronomical phenomenon
UNDER PRESSURE: The report cited numerous events that have happened this year to show increased coercion from China, such as military drills and legal threats The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) aims to reinforce its “one China” principle and the idea that Taiwan belongs to the People’s Republic of China by hosting celebratory events this year for the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, the “retrocession” of Taiwan and the establishment of the UN, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said in its latest report to the Legislative Yuan. Taking advantage of the significant anniversaries, Chinese officials are attempting to assert China’s sovereignty over Taiwan through interviews with international news media and cross-strait exchange events, the report said. Beijing intends to reinforce its “one China” principle
RSS