Technical problems were to blame for the failure of a recent test-firing of a domestically-developed surface-to-surface missile, defense sources said yesterday.
The test took place in late August at a top security military site in Chiupeng, Pingtung County, where the military regularly launches tests of weapon systems under development.
It was the missile's first test firing following years of development by the military's Chung Shan Institute of Science and Technology (CSIST).
The surface-to-surface missile development program, code-named "Difeng (狄風)," has been in operation for more than five years and was created as a response to missile threats from China.
A Chinese-language newspaper, quoting anonymous sources, said yesterday that the surface-to-surface missile was designed to have a range of 900km, capable of reaching Shanghai and Hong Kong.
The Ministry of National Defense did not confirm or deny the report. The ministry is known to strongly deny reports it considers false.
A consensus is now forming in the military as to the development of offensive weapons to deter China from attacking Taiwan, with many in the military believing that defensive weapons would not be effective in repelling a Chinese attack.
During the 1996 Taiwan Strait crisis, the military was almost totally defenseless in the face of China's missile tests off Taiwan.
Since then, the military has devoted itself to secretly developing offensive weapons. Up to date, it has successfully developed a ballistic missile with a range of 300km and a cruise missile with a 1,000km range.
The Difeng project marks efforts by the military to develop a long-range missile without violating international restrictions on ballistic missiles with a range of more than 300km.
Chang Li-teh (張立德), a senior editor with the Defense Technology Monthly magazine, said the Difeng surface-to-surface missile should not be limited in range because it is not a ballistic missile.
"According to information made public by the [a Chinese-language newspaper], the missile has to be greatly improved before it becomes a real threat to China," Chang said.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) yesterday appealed to the authorities to release former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) from pretrial detention amid conflicting reports about his health. The TPP at a news conference on Thursday said that Ko should be released to a hospital for treatment, adding that he has blood in his urine and had spells of pain and nausea followed by vomiting over the past three months. Hsieh Yen-yau (謝炎堯), a retired professor of internal medicine and Ko’s former teacher, said that Ko’s symptoms aligned with gallstones, kidney inflammation and potentially dangerous heart conditions. Ko, charged with
RSS