China could soon test a new anti-satellite weapon that could pose a threat to Taiwan’s defense capabilities, a US media report said.
According to US intelligence sources, the Dong Ning-2 anti-satellite missile — potentially able to destroy satellites in high-Earth or geosynchronous orbit — will be ready for testing next month.
If it proves successful, the missile could knock out the US satellites that would provide early warning of an attack on Taiwan and other satellites used to conduct defense operations.
The Washington Free Beacon, a politically conservative Web site, reported on Tuesday that tests were being delayed “to avoid upsetting” US President Barack Obama’s re-election bid.
“China’s delay in conducting the test until after the Nov. 6 election is a sign Beijing wants to help Obama’s re-election campaign — it means they’d rather have him re-elected,” a US official familiar with the intelligence reports was quoted as saying.
Intelligence and military sources reached by the Taipei Times on Tuesday refused to confirm or deny the reported anti-satellite development.
“The missile is described by intelligence agencies as a high-earth orbit interceptor designed to destroy satellites by ramming them at high speeds,” the report said.
China has been building an anti-satellite capability for more than 10 years, but testing a high-earth orbit anti-satellite missile would represent a “major advance.”
Military communication and navigation satellites fly at high-earth orbits of 19,300km to 35,410km from Earth.
It is not known how the test will be conducted.
“Defense officials have said that with as few as 24 anti-satellite missiles, China could severely weaken US military operations by disrupting global communications and military logistics as well as by limiting celestial navigation systems used by high-technology weapons,” the report said.
A Department of State-Pentagon report to Congress earlier this year said that Chinese anti-satellite weapons had “significant implications” for anti-access and area-denial efforts against the US in Taiwan Strait contingencies.
It said the weapons were being developed to force the US military out of Asian waters and make it more difficult for US forces to get into the region to defend Taiwan.
CALL FOR SUPPORT: President William Lai called on lawmakers across party lines to ensure the livelihood of Taiwanese and that national security is protected President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday called for bipartisan support for Taiwan’s investment in self-defense capabilities at the christening and launch of two coast guard vessels at CSBC Corp, Taiwan’s (台灣國際造船) shipyard in Kaohsiung. The Taipei (台北) is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels, and the Siraya (西拉雅) is the Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) first-ever ocean patrol vessel, the government said. The Taipei is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels with a displacement of about 4,000 tonnes, Lai said. This ship class was ordered as a result of former president Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) 2018
‘SECRETS’: While saying China would not attack during his presidency, Donald Trump declined to say how Washington would respond if Beijing were to take military action US President Donald Trump said that China would not take military action against Taiwan while he is president, as the Chinese leaders “know the consequences.” Trump made the statement during an interview on CBS’ 60 Minutes program that aired on Sunday, a few days after his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in South Korea. “He [Xi] has openly said, and his people have openly said at meetings, ‘we would never do anything while President Trump is president,’ because they know the consequences,” Trump said in the interview. However, he repeatedly declined to say exactly how Washington would respond in
WARFARE: All sectors of society should recognize, unite, and collectively resist and condemn Beijing’s cross-border suppression, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng said The number of Taiwanese detained because of legal affairs by Chinese authorities has tripled this year, as Beijing intensified its intimidation and division of Taiwanese by combining lawfare and cognitive warfare, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) made the statement in response to questions by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Puma Shen (沈柏洋) about the government’s response to counter Chinese public opinion warfare, lawfare and psychological warfare. Shen said he is also being investigated by China for promoting “Taiwanese independence.” He was referring to a report published on Tuesday last week by China’s state-run Xinhua news agency,
‘NOT SUBORDINATE’: Only Taiwanese can decide the nation’s future, and people preserving their democratic way of life is not a provocation, President William Lai said Taiwan does not want China’s “one country, two systems,” and must uphold its freedom and democracy as well as resolve to defend itself, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, rejecting Beijing’s latest bid to bring the country under Chinese control. The president made the remarks while attending a commissioning ceremony for Taiwan’s first battalion of M1A2T Abrams tanks in Hsinchu County’s Hukou Township (湖口). The tanks are made by General Dynamics, a major US defense contractor. China this week said it “absolutely will not” rule out using force over Taiwan, striking a much tougher tone than a series of articles in state media
RSS