Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday.
The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.”
The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense.
Photo: CNA
Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan, Hsieh told a news conference on Tuesday evening.
The second wave involved 10 rockets launched at 1pm from Shishi in Fujian Province, which landed 50 nautical miles west of Tainan, Hsieh said.
Chieh Chung (揭仲), an associate research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the PCH-191 rocket system used by China in the drills has a maximum range of 280km, capable of striking most of western Taiwan.
Chieh said the rockets have “some precision characteristics” and could serve as a low-cost option for large-volume joint firepower output compared with ballistic missiles and cruise missiles, but Taiwan lacks suitable interception systems for such rockets.
That is why President William Lai (賴清德) is promoting the “T-Dome” to build interception systems capable of defending against rockets as a form of forward deployment, he said.
Lai announced that Taiwan would build the system during his Double Ten National Day address on Oct. 10 last year.
Lin Ying-yu (林穎佑), an associate professor in Tamkang University’s Graduate Institute of International Affairs and Strategic Studies, said the mobility of military equipment is critical.
Many newer systems, including the HIMARS multiple rocket launcher system, the M109A7 howitzer and new air force radar systems, are mobile, but require reinforced or underground shelters to improve survivability, he said.
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