In light of the threat posed to the Greater Taipei region by Chinese missiles, the military has said additional Patriot missile bases are needed in the region, on top of the three already in place, in order to ensure the protection of Taiwan’s political, military, and economic centers.
The China Military Power Report, released by the Ministry of Defense in September, said that the number of ballistic and cruise missiles which China’s Second Artillery Corps has aimed at Taiwan increased from 1,400 last year to more than 1,600 this year.
Currently, there are three Patriot missile bases in the Greater Taipei region — Wanli (萬里), Nangang (南港) and Sindian (新店) — which the military says serve to blunt any potential missile strikes against Taipei by Chinese forces.
The anti-ballistic capability of the Patriot missiles, as well as the long-range radar station located in the area which boasts a detection range deep into Chinese territory, would provide the Taipei region with an effective “umbrella” against missile attacks, the military said.
Pointing to the increased capability, accuracy and mobility of the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Second Artillery Corp — as well as its increased deployment of Dong Feng-16 missiles [the newest mobile missile in the Chinese arsenal, capable of striking targets from a distance of 1,000km] — a Taiwanese general, who declined to be named, said the military had concluded that the anti-missile “umbrella” would need an additional surface-to-air anti-ballistic missile base.
Saying the location of the base was classified for reasons of national security, the military declined to comment on its planned whereabouts.
With the latest plan, the military is shifting its surface-to-air missile coverage ratio from that outlined by the administration of former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) at 3:2:2 — in respect of missile bases located in the north, central and southern regions of Taiwan — to a new 4:2:1 ratio.
The previous administration had promised to set up missile bases in central and southern Taiwan to offer better protection to the Greater Taichung and Kaohsiung regions, nominating six ideal locations for the establishment of the missile bases, the general said.
After President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) came to power in 2008, economic woes took priority, forcing the ministry to aim for a first-phase establishment of four new missile bases — one in the north, two in the Greater Taichung area, and one in the Kaohsiung-Pingtung area, the general said.
The Chen administration had been focused on a balanced distribution of missile bases — a focus slightly more political than strategic — the general said, adding that the military’s current focus was based on the “level of threat” faced by various regions.
That focus helped to determine the priority of the establishment of new missile bases and is a decision based on overall strategic thinking.
“It is not placing the north over the south, nor is it favoring the pan-blue over the pan-green region,” the general said.
Political demographics in Taiwan traditionally demarcate northern Taiwan as more supportive of the pan-blue camp and southern Taiwan as more sympathetic to the pan-green camp, which is why the general sought clarify the matter.
Reached for comment, Ministry of National Defense spokesman Major General David Lo (羅紹和) said it was standard ministry practice not to comment on military deployments and declined further comment.
‘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 High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
RSS