With the procurement and deployment of three additional Patriot PAC-3 anti-missile batteries, 70 percent of Taiwan's population and 60 percent of its industrial facilities will be under the theater missile defense system's protection, according to a report released yesterday by the Ministry of National Defense (MND).
Minister of National Defense Lee Jye (
A MND official who asked to remain anonymous released major portions of the report's text to local media yesterday.
The proposal said the procurement of the PAC-3 batteries is an efficient military investment.
The MND official said that according to the proposal, Taiwan has deployed 200 PAC-2 interceptors in northern Taiwan to protect the capital.
With the procurement of three additional PAC-3 batteries with 384 missiles, a total of 584 missiles will be deployed in northern, central and southern Taiwan, and major cities and military facilities of the west coast would be under the protective umbrella of the theater missile defense system, the report said.
The proposal said that 70 percent of Taiwan's population and 60 percent of its industrial facilities would be under the system's protection, the official said.
With the deployment of 584 interceptor missiles, Taiwan could survive a first strike from a People's Liberation Army (PLA) missile attack, the report said.
According to the report, the "highly agile hit-to-kill interceptor" has an 80 percent chance of intercepting an incoming ballistic missile, he added.
The proposal said that, although the US sold Japan and the Netherlands PAC-3 interceptors at the price of US$3.2 million per missile, it has proposed selling the missiles to Taiwan at the lower price of US$3.01 million per missile.
However, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Wen-chung (
Since the legislature has so far blocked the special arms budget, the ministry has made the procurement of eight diesel-powered submarines and 12 P-3C maritime patrol aircraft a priority, Lee added.
Meanwhile, a military expert questioned the effectiveness of the Patriot anti-missile system.
Lin Tsung-ta (
Lin said China currently had an arsenal of more than 700 short-range ballistic missiles on the coast opposite Taiwan.
He said that accordiong to the "two plus two theory," a defender must simultaneously launch four missiles -- two Theater High-Altitude Area Defense missiles and two Patriots -- for each incoming missile in order to have a 95 percent probability of intercepting it. To achieve that success rate, Taiwan would therefore need nearly 3,000 missiles to effectively counter China's short-range ballistic missile threat.
He said the 584 anti-missiles was far from the huge number of missiles Taiwan really needed, and that therefore Taiwan should focus on deterrent weapons instead.
The first two F-16V Bock 70 jets purchased from the US are expected to arrive in Taiwan around Double Ten National Day, which is on Oct. 10, a military source said yesterday. Of the 66 F-16V Block 70 jets purchased from the US, the first completed production in March, the source said, adding that since then three jets have been produced per month. Although there were reports of engine defects, the issue has been resolved, they said. After the jets arrive in Taiwan, they must first pass testing by the air force before they would officially become Taiwan’s property, they said. The air force
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday said it had deployed patrol vessels to expel a China Coast Guard ship and a Chinese fishing boat near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. The China Coast Guard vessel was 28 nautical miles (52km) northeast of Pratas at 6:15am on Thursday, approaching the island’s restricted waters, which extend 24 nautical miles from its shoreline, the CGA’s Dongsha-Nansha Branch said in a statement. The Tainan, a 2,000-tonne cutter, was deployed by the CGA to shadow the Chinese ship, which left the area at 2:39pm on Friday, the statement said. At 6:31pm on Friday,
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, would pose a steep challenge to Taiwan’s ability to defend itself against a full-scale invasion, a defense expert said yesterday. Institute of National Defense and Security Research analyst Chieh Chung (揭仲) made the comment hours after the PLAN confirmed the carrier recently passed through the Taiwan Strait to conduct “scientific research tests and training missions” in the South China Sea. China has two carriers in operation — the Liaoning and the Shandong — with the Fujian undergoing sea trials. Although the PLAN needs time to train the Fujian’s air wing and
STRIKE: Some travel agencies in Taiwan said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group tours to the country were proceeding as planned A planned strike by airport personnel in South Korea has not affected group tours to the country from Taiwan, travel agencies said yesterday. They added that they were closely monitoring the situation. Personnel at 15 airports, including Seoul’s Incheon and Gimpo airports, are to go on strike. They announced at a news conference on Tuesday that the strike would begin on Friday next week and continue until the Mid-Autumn Festival next month. Some travel agencies in Taiwan, including Cola Tour, Lion Travel, SET Tour and ezTravel, said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group
RSS