The Republic of China Army Command Headquarters has agreed to purchase 5,000 Kestrel close-range anti-armor missiles worth NT$400 million (US$12.63 million) from the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology, according to the military’s latest arms purchase bid notice.
The army asked the institute to complete the order within 13 months, a military source said on condition of anonymity.
Kestrel missiles are designed to penetrate armored vehicles and are used in anti-surface warfare, as they feature optical sights and night vision, and can be operated in all weather conditions.
Photo courtesy of the Military News Agency
The missile has a 400m range, or a 150m range when used for breaching brick walls up to 30cm thick.
The missiles have become familiar anti-armor weaponry for army and navy units, the source said, adding that the Ocean Affairs Council has deployed Kestrel missiles on the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島) and Itu Aba Island (Taiping Island, 太平島) to strengthen garrison defenses and anti-landing capabilities.
The Military Police’s Mechanized Infantry 239th Battalion and the 202nd Command Headquarters’ Quick Reaction Force have also conducted training simulations with Kestrels to counter potential decapitation strikes by the Chinese on Taipei’s Bo Ai Special District (博愛特區), in which most government buildings are concentrated.
The military has also ordered the Kinmen, Matsu and Penghu defense commands to shorten the intervals between standard defensive firing drills to familiarize garrison troops with how to operate the weapon systems.
Meanwhile, the Republic of China Navy has used its special budget to order a substantial number of Hsiung Feng II (“Brave Wind,” 雄風) and Hsiung Feng III missiles, and to purchase land-based Harpoon missile systems from the US.
The military said that Taiwan and Japan have been establishing increased anti-surface missile networks to counter possible threats from the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy.
The government has also stated that the Hai Feng Squadron, a primary anti-surface missile unit, is to be upgraded to the Anti-Surface Missile Command in July next year.
During an inspection this month of the Huadong Defense Command, the military said that once the institute begins manufacturing, about 200 Brave Wind missiles could be produced annually.
Alongside additional purchases from the US, Taiwan likely would have enough anti-surface missiles to counter threats posed by Chinese forces, the source said.
Separately, a senior Taiwanese security official said that a Chinese blockade of Taiwan or the seizure of an outlying island would be considered an act of war, and Taiwan would “not surrender.”
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and others in her administration have said they want peace, but would defend the country if attacked. Details of what Taiwan would consider an attack warranting a response have previously been left unsaid.
Chinese military action might not be as straightforward as a full assault on Taiwan. It could include a blockade to try to force Taiwan to accept China’s rule, strategists have said.
The Taiwanese official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said China’s drills around Taiwan following last month’s visit to Taipei by US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi had focused on how Taiwan would react.
“A blockade is an act of war; seizing an offshore island is an act of war,” the official said, adding that Taipei believes that Beijing is unlikely to take either of those actions at present.
“Their only purpose to seize [outlying islands] is to force us to negotiate or surrender, but we will not surrender or negotiate,” the person said.
Additional reporting by Reuters
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
Taiwan was ranked the fourth-safest country in the world with a score of 82.9, trailing only Andorra, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar in Numbeo’s Safety Index by Country report. Taiwan’s score improved by 0.1 points compared with last year’s mid-year report, which had Taiwan fourth with a score of 82.8. However, both scores were lower than in last year’s first review, when Taiwan scored 83.3, and are a long way from when Taiwan was named the second-safest country in the world in 2021, scoring 84.8. Taiwan ranked higher than Singapore in ninth with a score of 77.4 and Japan in 10th with
SECURITY RISK: If there is a conflict between China and Taiwan, ‘there would likely be significant consequences to global economic and security interests,’ it said China remains the top military and cyber threat to the US and continues to make progress on capabilities to seize Taiwan, a report by US intelligence agencies said on Tuesday. The report provides an overview of the “collective insights” of top US intelligence agencies about the security threats to the US posed by foreign nations and criminal organizations. In its Annual Threat Assessment, the agencies divided threats facing the US into two broad categories, “nonstate transnational criminals and terrorists” and “major state actors,” with China, Russia, Iran and North Korea named. Of those countries, “China presents the most comprehensive and robust military threat
RSS