The government is planning on using a locally developed missile shield rather than buying the US-made Patriot weaponry to defend the central and southern part of the nation against attacks from China, it was reported yesterday.
The low-altitude anti-missile system, called ATBM (anti-tactical ballistic missile) by the researchers of the military-run Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology, is scheduled to be put into service in 2005, the Liberty Times said.
This system, rather than the US Patriot III weaponry now being tested, would be installed to defend central and southern Taiwan, the paper said.
"That's why the Patriot weaponry was not on the arms shopping list Taipei presented Washington this year," an unnamed military officer was quoted by the report as saying.
Washington has remained the largest arms supplier to Taiwan despite its switching of diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979.
The paper said the tests of Patriot III suggested it could be reliable, but that it might take a long time to be integrated into the nation's missile shield.
The government has installed three batteries of PAC-II Plus missiles, the improved version of the first Patriot, to defend the densely populated greater Taipei area.
But the hostility in 1996, during which China's People's Liberation Army lobbed ballistic missiles into shipping lanes off Taiwan, prompted the government to seek a more advanced missile shield including the purchase of the Patriot III and the development of its own version.
Changshan's ATBM scored an initial success when a missile hit a targeted drone during a test in September 1999.
Chungshan official Chao Yao-ming had said ATBM, which updated the locally developed Tienkung (Sky Bow) air defense system, was guided by phased array radars like those installed on US AEGIS-class destroyer.
The indigenous weaponry targeted M-9 and M-11 ballistic missiles, which form part of China's arms inventory, as well as a new missile program reportedly similar to the US Tomahawk.
The government earlier had announced the ATBM program as part of a "national missile defense" project, and that Chungshan would play a key role in the project.
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