Taiwan has has successfully test-fired the prototype of an anti-ship missile which is being developed to boost Taipei's sea defences against China, a Chinese-language newspaper said yesterday.
"The military's Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology has successfully test-fired -- several times -- Hsiung Feng III anti-ship missile," the China Times daily quoted an unnamed military source as saying.
The tests began early last month at the Chiu Peng Missile Base in Pingtung County, southeast Taiwan. The missile was fired in the direction of the Pacific Ocean, and it corrected its course several times before hitting the target, the daily said.
According to the paper, the Chungshan institute began developing Hsiung Feng III 10 years ago and has been test-firing it in the last two years but has met difficulties. The breakthrough came last month and the test fire succeeded early last month.
Taiwan has kept developing Hsiung Feng III a secret because it is superior to the Sunburn supersonic anti-ship missiles China has acquired from Russia for use on its two Sovremenny destroyers, and also because Taiwan does not want to draw attention to Chungshan institute's developing Hsiung Feng IIE, which is rumoured to be a cruise missile.
Hsiung Feng III is the third generation of Taiwan's self-built Hsiung Feng-series anti-ship missiles.
Military analysts say the development of Hsiung Feng III can boost Taiwan's sea defenses against China.
"With upgraded speed and precision, Hsiung Feng III can accurately hit Chinese warships in the Taiwan Strait," Cheng Chih-wen, editor in chief of the Defence International monthly magazine.
"I think its range is between 150km 200km, longer than Hsiung Feng II's range of 120 kilometres, but the key point is its supersonic attack capability," he added.
Cheng said China has also been developing supersonic missiles but has not succeeded yet.
Taiwan is separated from China by the 120km-wide Taiwan Strait.
CAUTION: Based on intelligence from the nation’s security agencies, MOFA has cautioned Taiwanese travelers about heightened safety risks in China-friendly countries The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday urged Taiwanese to be aware of their safety when traveling abroad, especially in countries that are friendly to China. China in June last year issued 22 guidelines that allow its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death so-called “diehard” Taiwanese independence activists, even though Chinese courts have no jurisdiction in Taiwan. Late last month, a senior Chinese official gave closed-door instructions to state security units to implement the guidelines in countries friendly to China, a government memo and a senior Taiwan security official said, based on information gathered by Taiwan’s intelligence agency. The
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday that it will revoke the dependent-based residence permit of a Chinese social media influencer who reportedly “openly advocated for [China’s] unification through military force” with Taiwan. The Chinese national, identified by her surname Liu (劉), will have her residence permit revoked in accordance with Article 14 of the “Measures for the permission of family- based residence, long-term residence and settlement of people from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area,” the NIA said in a news release. The agency explained it received reports that Liu made “unifying Taiwan through military force” statements on her online
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said yesterday that it is looking to hire 8,000 people this year, at a time when the tech giant is expanding production capacity to maintain its lead over competitors. To attract talent, TSMC would launch a large-scale recruitment campaign on campuses across Taiwan, where a newly recruited engineer with a master’s degree could expect to receive an average salary of NT$2.2 million (US$60,912), which is much higher than the 2023 national average of NT$709,000 for those in the same category, according to government statistics. TSMC, which accounted for more than 60 percent
Tung Tzu-hsien (童子賢), a Taiwanese businessman and deputy convener of the nation’s National Climate Change Committee, said yesterday that “electrical power is national power” and nuclear energy is “very important to Taiwan.” Tung made the remarks, suggesting that his views do not align with the country’s current official policy of phasing out nuclear energy, at a forum organized by the Taiwan People’s Party titled “Challenges and Prospects of Taiwan’s AI Industry and Energy Policy.” “Taiwan is currently pursuing industries with high added- value and is developing vigorously, and this all requires electricity,” said the chairman
RSS