Minister of National Defense Michael Tsai (蔡明憲) yesterday responded to speculation that China would announce plans to remove half of the missiles it has aimed at Taiwan on May 20, the inauguration of president-elect Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), saying only that removing and destroying ballistic missiles were two different issues.
Most of China’s missiles are mobile, which means that even if they were removed from Fujian Province to Sichuan Province, they could be redeployed just as quickly, Tsai said.
If China really wants to offer a gesture of good will, simply repositioning the missiles would fall short, Tsai said.
Tsai said that in addition to the 1,400 short range missiles aimed at Taiwan, China also had long range ground to ground missiles with a range of 1,000km to 2,000km, and some missiles with a range up to 8,000km.
Military officials have said that each of China’s missile units has more than one launch position. These positions are connected by road networks, allowing for quick repositioning.
Officials have also said that it is very difficult to differentiate between live launch sites and dummy sites.
The missiles are transported on wheeled mobile launch vehicles, which means that they can be moved quickly by road. This means that missile units that are out of firing range from Taiwan can be moved within range in a matter of half a day, officials said.
Even if China were to remove half of its missiles, officials said, there would still be up to 700 missiles aimed at Taiwan.
Monitoring the movement of missile units could help predict an attack by China, officials said.
Ma has said he will maintain the “status quo” in cross-strait relations, but would like to negotiate with Beijing on “normalizing economic ties, signing a peace treaty and increasing Taiwan’s presence in the international community.”
Ma also said after winning the election that he would ask China to dismantle the ballistic missiles aimed at Taiwan as a condition to entering into cross-strait peace negotiations.
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck off the coast of Yilan County at 8:39pm tonight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The epicenter was 38.7km east-northeast of Yilan County Hall at a focal depth of 98.3km, the CWA’s Seismological Center said. The quake’s maximum intensity, which gauges the actual physical effect of a seismic event, was a level 4 on Taiwan’s 7-tier intensity scale, the center said. That intensity level was recorded in Yilan County’s Nanao Township (南澳), Hsinchu County’s Guansi Township (關西), Nantou County’s Hehuanshan (合歡山) and Hualien County’s Yanliao (鹽寮). An intensity of 3 was
Instead of focusing solely on the threat of a full-scale military invasion, the US and its allies must prepare for a potential Chinese “quarantine” of Taiwan enforced through customs inspections, Stanford University Hoover fellow Eyck Freymann said in a Foreign Affairs article published on Wednesday. China could use various “gray zone” tactics in “reconfiguring the regional and ultimately the global economic order without a war,” said Freymann, who is also a nonresident research fellow at the US Naval War College. China might seize control of Taiwan’s links to the outside world by requiring all flights and ships entering or leaving Taiwan
The first of 10 new high-capacity trains purchased from South Korea’s Hyundai Rotem arrived at the Port of Taipei yesterday to meet the demands of an expanding metro network, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) said yesterday. The train completed a three-day, 1,200km voyage from the Port of Masan in South Korea, the company said. Costing NT$590 million (US$18.79 million) each, the new six-carriage trains feature a redesigned interior based on "human-centric" transportation concepts, TRTC said. The design utilizes continuous longitudinal seating to widen the aisles and optimize passenger flow, while also upgrading passenger information displays and driving control systems for a more comfortable
Taiwan's first indigenous defense submarine, the SS-711 Hai Kun (海鯤, or Narwhal), departed for its 13th sea trial at 7am today, marking its seventh submerged test, with delivery to the navy scheduled for July. The outing also marked its first sea deployment since President William Lai (賴清德) boarded the submarine for an inspection on March 19, drawing a crowd of military enthusiasts who gathered to show support. The submarine this morning departed port accompanied by CSBC Corp’s Endeavor Manta (奮進魔鬼魚號) uncrewed surface vessel and a navy M109 assault boat. Amid public interest in key milestones such as torpedo-launching operations and overnight submerged trials,
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