Minister of National Defense Kao Hua-chu (高華柱) yesterday gave only vague answers when asked to comment on reports that the military’s top research institute had developed a 1,200km medium-range surface-to-surface missile capable of hitting central China.
“The military normally does not comment on programs that are still in development,” Kao said of a report in the Chinese-language Next Magazine, adding that some of the article’s content was not factual.
However, Kao added that “many things” were still in development and that there was much room for improvement, adding that the ministry would explain the matter to the public “when the time becomes opportune.”
The article said that following a number of breakthroughs in engine technology and miniaturization, the Chung Shan Institute of Science and Technology (CSIST), the nation’s top military research institute, had developed — and tested twice this year — a new surface-to-surface missile with a range of 1,200km that is capable of hitting Shanghai, about 700km from Taiwan, and parts of the South China Sea.
If the budgets are made available, mass production of between 50 and 60 missiles could begin in 2014 over a period of five years, with first deployments as early as 2015, the report said.
The article added that the military did not rule out developing a 2,000km-range missile, which would bring Beijing within reach.
Taiwan’s current land attack cruise missile (LACM) force employs the Hsiung Feng IIE (HF-2E), a 650km land and ship-based variant of the HF-2 anti-ship cruise missile. Mass production of the missile, which has not been seen publicly, is reported to have begun in 2010, along with that of the HF-3 supersonic anti-ship missile.
The ultra-secretive CSIST has long struggled with range and warhead miniaturization issues and has faced pressure from the US, which fears an arms race in the Taiwan Strait, not to seek further advances in LACMs.
Taiwan’s surface-to-surface missile capability is regarded as a purely counterforce means to attack enemy missile bases as well as command and control centers for China’s Second Artillery Corps. Although the HF-2E can target missile bases in Fujian Province, where the majority of China’s Dong Feng-11 (DF-11) short-range ballistic missiles are deployed, it comes short of the missile bases located deeper in Chinese territory, where medium-range DF-15 and DF-16s are located.
Although this view is not universal, a number of military experts say that a missile deterrent force would be a more cost-effective way for Taiwan to defend itself against China than the acquisition of expensive platforms such as new F-16C/Ds or large destroyers.
WANG RELEASED: A police investigation showed that an organized crime group allegedly taught their clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving. Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代). Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China. The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents. Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect,
Eleven people, including actor Darren Wang (王大陸), were taken into custody today for questioning regarding the evasion of compulsory military service and document forgery, the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said. Eight of the people, including Wang, are suspected of evading military service, while three are suspected of forging medical documents to assist them, the report said. They are all being questioned by police and would later be transferred to the prosecutors’ office for further investigation. Three men surnamed Lee (李), Chang (張) and Lin (林) are suspected of improperly assisting conscripts in changing their military classification from “stand-by
LITTORAL REGIMENTS: The US Marine Corps is transitioning to an ‘island hopping’ strategy to counterattack Beijing’s area denial strategy The US Marine Corps (USMC) has introduced new anti-drone systems to bolster air defense in the Pacific island chain amid growing Chinese military influence in the region, The Telegraph reported on Sunday. The new Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS) Mk 1 is being developed to counter “the growing menace of unmanned aerial systems,” it cited the Marine Corps as saying. China has constructed a powerful defense mechanism in the Pacific Ocean west of the first island chain by deploying weapons such as rockets, submarines and anti-ship missiles — which is part of its anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) strategy against adversaries — the
Former Taiwan People’s Party chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) may apply to visit home following the death of his father this morning, the Taipei Detention Center said. Ko’s father, Ko Cheng-fa (柯承發), passed away at 8:40am today at the Hsinchu branch of National Taiwan University Hospital. He was 94 years old. The center said Ko Wen-je was welcome to apply, but declined to say whether it had already received an application. The center also provides psychological counseling to people in detention as needed, it added, also declining to comment on Ko Wen-je’s mental state. Ko Wen-je is being held in detention as he awaits trial
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