Taiwan expects a much-anticipated missile defense shield to be ready next year after buying advanced weapons at a cost of about NT$300 billion (US$9.4 billion), local media reported yesterday.
Six batteries of Patriot III missiles forming the backbone of the system will account for roughly half the cost associated with the project, the China Times newspaper said.
A long-range early warning radar system, priced at about NT$40 billion, will allow the military to detect and track incoming ballistic missiles and cruise missiles, it said.
While the Patriot III and radars are US-made, the system will also include locally produced tactical ballistic missiles evolved from existing missiles known as “Tien Kung,” or Sky Bow, the paper said.
The Ministry of National Defense declined to comment on the report.
Military experts estimate the People’s Liberation Army currently has more than 1,600 missiles aimed at Taiwan.
Meanwhile, the state-controlled Chinese press yesterday said China needs a “carrier-killer” missile deterrent as a counterbalance to US naval supremacy in the Pacific.
“China undoubtedly needs to build a highly credible anti-carrier capability,” the Global Times said in an editorial.
“Not only does China need an anti-ship ballistic missile, but also other carrier-killing measures,” said the paper, which is published by the People’s Daily, the print mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party. “Since US aircraft carrier battle groups in the Pacific constitute deterrence against China’s strategic interests, China has to possess the capacity to counterbalance.”
US military analysts have said that China is developing a new version of its Dongfeng 21 missile that could pierce the defenses of even the most sturdy US naval vessels and has a range of 20,000km — far beyond Chinese waters.
A Chinese freighter that allegedly snapped an undersea cable linking Taiwan proper to Penghu County is suspected of being owned by a Chinese state-run company and had docked at the ports of Kaohsiung and Keelung for three months using different names. On Tuesday last week, the Togo-flagged freighter Hong Tai 58 (宏泰58號) and its Chinese crew were detained after the Taipei-Penghu No. 3 submarine cable was severed. When the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) first attempted to detain the ship on grounds of possible sabotage, its crew said the ship’s name was Hong Tai 168, although the Automatic Identification System (AIS)
An Akizuki-class destroyer last month made the first-ever solo transit of a Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force ship through the Taiwan Strait, Japanese government officials with knowledge of the matter said yesterday. The JS Akizuki carried out a north-to-south transit through the Taiwan Strait on Feb. 5 as it sailed to the South China Sea to participate in a joint exercise with US, Australian and Philippine forces that day. The Japanese destroyer JS Sazanami in September last year made the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force’s first-ever transit through the Taiwan Strait, but it was joined by vessels from New Zealand and Australia,
CHANGE OF MIND: The Chinese crew at first showed a willingness to cooperate, but later regretted that when the ship arrived at the port and refused to enter Togolese Republic-registered Chinese freighter Hong Tai (宏泰號) and its crew have been detained on suspicion of deliberately damaging a submarine cable connecting Taiwan proper and Penghu County, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement yesterday. The case would be subject to a “national security-level investigation” by the Tainan District Prosecutors’ Office, it added. The administration said that it had been monitoring the ship since 7:10pm on Saturday when it appeared to be loitering in waters about 6 nautical miles (11km) northwest of Tainan’s Chiang Chun Fishing Port, adding that the ship’s location was about 0.5 nautical miles north of the No.
SECURITY: The purpose for giving Hong Kong and Macau residents more lenient paths to permanent residency no longer applies due to China’s policies, a source said The government is considering removing an optional path to citizenship for residents from Hong Kong and Macau, and lengthening the terms for permanent residence eligibility, a source said yesterday. In a bid to prevent the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from infiltrating Taiwan through immigration from Hong Kong and Macau, the government could amend immigration laws for residents of the territories who currently receive preferential treatment, an official familiar with the matter speaking on condition of anonymity said. The move was part of “national security-related legislative reform,” they added. Under the amendments, arrivals from the Chinese territories would have to reside in Taiwan for
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