A US newspaper is reporting that China earlier this month carried out a series of practice or “simulated” attacks targeting Taiwan.
“The tests included multiple firings of short and medium-range ballistic missiles as well as land-attack cruise missiles,” the Washington Times reported.
The report was written by national security journalist Bill Gertz, who has established a reputation for his intelligence community contacts. Gertz earlier broke news of China secretly testing Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs).
The latest missile tests may actually have taken place while US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton was in Beijing on Sept. 4.
Citing US officials, Gertz said Chinese military forces recently carried out a series of ballistic and cruise missile tests that “simulated salvos of attacks on Taiwan.”
US intelligence sources reached by the Taipei Times would neither confirm nor deny the report.
“The missile tests were monitored by US spy agencies which reported that the tests used capabilities designed to penetrate missile defenses and to hit hardened or protected targets,” Gertz said.
According to Gertz, China has between 1,000 and 1,600 DF-16 medium-range and DF-11 and DF-15 short-range missiles within range of Taiwan and recently deployed a new DH-10 land-attack cruise missile.
“The anti-Taiwan missile tests followed a series of long range flight tests of Chinese missiles that began in July, with the first test of a new road-mobile DF-41 intercontinental ballistic missile,” Gertz said.
A US Department of State official said: “We are well aware of China’s extensive military modernization efforts and are monitoring them closely,” adding that “we remain concerned about the lack of transparency from China.”
Richard Fisher, a specialist on China’s military with the International Assessment and Strategy Center, said: “The timing of this latest missile exercise with the arrival of the US Secretary of State seems consistent with the Chinese Communist Party leadership’s penchant for martial posturing.”
“[US] Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta got his share when China revealed its J-31 stealth fighter the day before his arrival. The dictators are playing for PLA [People’s Liberation Army] applause and may even think they are scaring the rest of us, but they are also demonstrating their insecurity and reminding us that their paper thin legitimacy makes them prone to violence,” he said.
Fisher said that with the latest report it was clear that China’s Second Artillery had undertaken an intensive missile demonstration and testing program this summer.
“We are already seeing an effort by the PLA to counter Taiwan’s new missile defenses with the deployment of longer range and faster DF-16 missiles that are much harder to shoot down,” Fisher said.
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
RSS