The whole of Taiwan is within range of the nearly 980 guided missiles which China now has aimed at the country, a senior Ministry of National Defense (MND) official said yesterday.
"These missiles indeed pose a serious threat to Taiwan," Major-General Wang Cheng-hsiao (王正霄), deputy director of the MND's intelligence department, said at a news conference yesterday.
Wang said that the accuracy of these missiles could exceed 70 percent in practical applications.
"The Chinese military has approximately 2.3 million soldiers available. The threat exists and it is growing," he said.
"Our intelligence sources show that the whole of Taiwan is within range of [the Chinese military's] missiles. By 2010, China could be capable of completing preparations for a large-scale war against Taiwan. By 2015, it could have the capacity to launch a decisive battle," he added.
Wang said that China had put into service about 60 J-10 aircraft, which are tipped to be the equivalent of the Taiwanese air force's F-16 A/Bs in terms of combat capabilities.
"Armed with these airplanes, as well as Su-27s and Su-30s, China will have air supremacy over Taiwan," he warned.
The rise of the Chinese military could also become a threat to other Asian countries, but was especially relevant to Taiwan, he said.
Confirming that China had shot down one of its own satellites with a mid-range guided missile on Jan. 11, Wang said that China was trying to elevate its international stature by demonstrating its missile capability instead of threatening Taiwan.
Nonetheless, he expressed concerns that "now that they have the ability to shoot down a satellite from the ground, it also means they have the ability to shoot down ours."
"Should war break out in the Taiwan Strait, China would be able to use its anti-satellite weaponry to attack the military satellites of other countries," including those of the US, Wang added.
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
RSS