Despite efforts by the administration of President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) to lower tensions in the Taiwan Strait, the Chinese military continues to build up its missile threat against its neighbor, according to recent reports of modernization efforts at missile bases in China’s Fujian Province.
Reports late last month said recent US spy satellite imagery had uncovered what appeared to be evidence of new missile launch pads in Fujian Province, including in Xianyou in the province’s southeast, directly -opposite Taiwan.
However, according to the latest issue of British defense magazine Jane’s Defence Weekly, the imagery was likely evidence of modernization of an old People’s Liberation Army (PLA) missile brigade under direct control of the Nanjing Military Region rather than new missile bases.
Military analysts suspect that command of the ground support missile brigade at Xianyou, which became operational in 1993, was recently shifted to the Second Artillery Corps, which oversees China’s conventional and nuclear ballistic missile forces.
Prior to falling under control of the Second Artillery’s 52 Base, the missile brigade around Xianyou comprised about 100 Dong Feng 11 (DF-11) short-range (300km) ballistic missiles (SRBM).
As part of ongoing modernization efforts, those missiles are now believed to be in the process of being replaced by the more modern 600km-range DF-11As, Jane’s said.
The DF-11 is a solid-fuel, road-mobile SRBM carried on transporter erector launcher (TEL) vehicles.
In earlier reports, Kanwa Asia Defense Review claimed that along with new equipment, the base may also have been given a new mission, Jane’s reported.
The Second Artillery’s main ballistic missile base in Fujian, 817 Brigade, is located in Yongan City. Six brigades of DF-11As are believed to be based there.
The brigades at Xianyou and Yongan are part of the PLA’s ballistic missile force, estimated at 1,500 missiles, targeted at Taiwan, an arsenal that includes medium-range DF-15s and DF-16s, as well as hundreds of cruise missiles.
Commenting on the imagery, Kanwa Asia Defense Review claimed that two of the new launch pads were constructed in northern Fujian, with one located 100km northwest of Fuzhou, less than 260km from Taipei.
At least two launch pads have also been detected on mountaintops in the Huashuang area, about 270km from Taipei. Yet another launch pad has been spotted 209km from Taipei, which the magazine said was also built prior to 2007 and is now under the control of No. 820 artillery brigade based in Jinhua, Zhejiang Province.
However, Gary Li, an intelligence analyst at UK-based Exclusive Analysis, said that without closer analysis of the imagery, it was impossible to rule out the possibility that some of the so-called launch pads seen around Fujian were fake TELs — which the PLA has reportedly been fielding in increasing numbers to deceive satellites — or long-range multiple rocket launchers such as the PHL-03s used by the army.
Commenting on the reports, local military experts said China had also strengthened its ability to protect its ballistic missiles with air-defense systems.
Ministry of National Defense spokesman David Lo (羅紹和) said the ministry has stepped up its monitoring of China’s military deployments and movements and would work out response strategies to protect national security.
The reports come amid news that three Patriot Advanced Capability-2 (PAC-2) surface-to-air missile defense units acquired by Taiwan in the late 1990s were recently returned to Taiwan after being upgraded to PAC-3 configuration in the US.
Additional reporting by CNA
LONG FLIGHT: The jets would be flown by US pilots, with Taiwanese copilots in the two-seat F-16D variant to help familiarize them with the aircraft, the source said The US is expected to fly 10 Lockheed Martin F-16C/D Block 70/72 jets to Taiwan over the coming months to fulfill a long-awaited order of 66 aircraft, a defense official said yesterday. Word that the first batch of the jets would be delivered soon was welcome news to Taiwan, which has become concerned about delays in the delivery of US arms amid rising military tensions with China. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said the initial tranche of the nation’s F-16s are rolling off assembly lines in the US and would be flown under their own power to Taiwan by way
‘OF COURSE A COUNTRY’: The president outlined that Taiwan has all the necessary features of a nation, including citizens, land, government and sovereignty President William Lai (賴清德) discussed the meaning of “nation” during a speech in New Taipei City last night, emphasizing that Taiwan is a country as he condemned China’s misinterpretation of UN Resolution 2758. The speech was the first in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. It is the responsibility of Taiwanese citizens to stand united to defend their national sovereignty, democracy, liberty, way of life and the future of the next generation, Lai said. This is the most important legacy the people of this era could pass on to future generations, he said. Lai went on to discuss
OBJECTS AT SEA: Satellites with synthetic-aperture radar could aid in the detection of small Chinese boats attempting to illegally enter Taiwan, the space agency head said Taiwan aims to send the nation’s first low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite into space in 2027, while the first Formosat-8 and Formosat-9 spacecraft are to be launched in October and 2028 respectively, the National Science and Technology Council said yesterday. The council laid out its space development plan in a report reviewed by members of the legislature’s Education and Culture Committee. Six LEO satellites would be produced in the initial phase, with the first one, the B5G-1A, scheduled to be launched in 2027, the council said in the report. Regarding the second satellite, the B5G-1B, the government plans to work with private contractors
MISSION: The Indo-Pacific region is ‘the priority theater,’ where the task of deterrence extends across the entire region, including Taiwan, the US Pacific Fleet commander said The US Navy’s “mission of deterrence” in the Indo-Pacific theater applies to Taiwan, Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Stephen Koehler told the South China Sea Conference on Tuesday. The conference, organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), is an international platform for senior officials and experts from countries with security interests in the region. “The Pacific Fleet’s mission is to deter aggression across the Western Pacific, together with our allies and partners, and to prevail in combat if necessary, Koehler said in the event’s keynote speech. “That mission of deterrence applies regionwide — including the South China Sea and Taiwan,” he
RSS