The Ministry of National Defense is considering asking the US for an additional 300 Block I-92 Stinger missiles, citing growing threats from Chinese jets and armed helicopters, an anonymous ministry source said yesterday.
Han Kuang military exercises in the past two years have shown that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) rapid upgrades to jets and armed helicopters have increased the threat to Taiwanese armed forces.
The ministry said that it was mulling options to upgrade the anti-aircraft capabilities of all armed forces, and equipping brigade-strength units with shoulder-launched missiles was one of the options discussed.
Screen grab from the US Navy Web site
The ministry purchased 250 Stingers from the US in 2015, which cost NT$6.2 billion (US$205 million).
The launchers were intended to be used by sailors on Guanghua VI missile boats or Tuo jiang-class corvettes, the source said.
The plan was to use the boats’ speed and agility to maximize survival, while causing as much damage as possible, the source said.
The Chinese have allegedly been practising decapitation strikes, the source said, adding that should Beijing weaken or penetrate Taiwan’s anti-aircraft defences, it is highly possible that the PLA would directly assault Taipei with jets and armed helicopters.
The possibility is yet another reason to bolster the Republic of China Army’s ground-based anti-aircraft capabilities, the source said.
The alleged decapitation strategies aimed at Taiwan refer to military exercises at the Zhurihe Training Base in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in July 2015, showing PLA Special Forces personnel sprinting into a building resembling the Presidential Office Building.
It was not the first time Chinese forces have simulated an attack on Taiwan in military exercises.
The PLA reportedly built a replica of Taichung’s shared-use Cingcyuangang Air Field (清泉崗) in China’s Gansu Province to simulate attacks on the airfield.
The PLA army, air force and special forces in 2015 reportedly established a special forces team in the Nanjing military zone that was fluent in Hoklo (commonly known as Taiwanese).
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