The military plans to build a missile capable of striking deep inside China, according to a Ministry of National Defense report presented to the legislature yesterday.
The long-distance strike capability is aimed at disabling military hardware in China that could be used in an attack on Taiwan, the ministry says in its 2004 to 2008 arms-buildup report.
The report does not specify what kinds of weapons are needed for long-distance strike capabilities, but it is obvious that they refer to ballistic missiles and cruise missiles now under development.
The Chung Shan Institute of Science and Technology has been secretly developing several different kinds of ballistic missiles and cruise missiles for some years, defense sources said. Some of these missiles were said to have been produced in small quantities and have been in service for several years.
The Hsiung Feng-IIE cruise missile, which was developed on the basis of the Hsiung Feng-II anti-ship missile, has already passed the 1,000km mark in flight tests, sources said.
The missile, should it become operational, would pose a threat to virtually all of China's vital military assets along its southeast coast and some further inland.
The institute has also made progress in the development of ballistic missiles, which are based the Tien Kung-II air-defense missile. One of these ballistic missiles under development was said to have a range of 300km.
The military plans to set up an independent missile command to coordinate and integrate its various kinds of missiles, the ministry report says.
As well as the acquisition of long-distance strike capabilities, the military is focusing on improving electronic warfare and information warfare over the next five years, the report says.
To ensure electronic superiority over the enemy, the military plans to develop, or buy from abroad, mobile electronic-warfare systems and weapons capable of countering electro-magnetic pulse attacks.
To finance such weapons development, the ministry has submitted a budget request of NT$605.2 billion to the Executive Yuan, but has been granted only NT$334.5 billion, the report says.
The ministry hopes to persuade the Cabinet to grant it additional funds for the next five years.
The extra money will be used to buy priority items such as eight non-nuclear submarines, which the navy is eager to acquire to counter the threat from China.
The military also plans to develop unmanned aerial vehicles as well as improve superconductor research and nanotechnology over the next five years.
NO-LIMITS PARTNERSHIP: ‘The bottom line’ is that if the US were to have a conflict with China or Russia it would likely open up a second front with the other, a US senator said Beijing and Moscow could cooperate in a conflict over Taiwan, the top US intelligence chief told the US Senate this week. “We see China and Russia, for the first time, exercising together in relation to Taiwan and recognizing that this is a place where China definitely wants Russia to be working with them, and we see no reason why they wouldn’t,” US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told a US Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing on Thursday. US Senator Mike Rounds asked Haines about such a potential scenario. He also asked US Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse
INSPIRING: Taiwan has been a model in the Asia-Pacific region with its democratic transition, free and fair elections and open society, the vice president-elect said Taiwan can play a leadership role in the Asia-Pacific region, vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) told a forum in Taipei yesterday, highlighting the nation’s resilience in the face of geopolitical challenges. “Not only can Taiwan help, but Taiwan can lead ... not only can Taiwan play a leadership role, but Taiwan’s leadership is important to the world,” Hsiao told the annual forum hosted by the Center for Asia-Pacific Resilience and Innovation think tank. Hsiao thanked Taiwan’s international friends for their long-term support, citing the example of US President Joe Biden last month signing into law a bill to provide aid to Taiwan,
China’s intrusive and territorial claims in the Indo-Pacific region are “illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive,” new US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo said on Friday, adding that he would continue working with allies and partners to keep the area free and open. Paparo made the remarks at a change-of-command ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, where he took over the command from Admiral John Aquilino. “Our world faces a complex problem set in the troubling actions of the People’s Republic of China [PRC] and its rapid buildup of forces. We must be ready to answer the PRC’s increasingly intrusive and
UNWAVERING: Paraguay remains steadfast in its support of Taiwan, but is facing growing pressure at home and abroad to switch recognition to Beijing, Pena said Paraguayan President Santiago Pena has pledged to continue enhancing cooperation with Taiwan, as he and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida expressed opposition to any unilateral change to the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait using force, Japanese media reported on Saturday. Kishida yesterday completed a trip to France, Brazil and Paraguay, his first visit to South America since taking office in 2021. After the Japanese leader and Pena spoke for more than an hour on Friday, exchanging views on the situation in East Asia in the face of China’s increasing military pressure on Taiwan, they affirmed that “unilateral attempts to change the