Taiwan Develops Advanced Missiles

Taiwan's Hsiung Feng III missile displayed during Taiwan's national day parade in Taipei. Taiwan rolled out its top military weaponry with the aim of stirring China and boosting nationalist fervor

This year Taiwan started to deploy supersonic anti-ship missiles in response to China’s growing naval arsenal. Those third generation Hsiung Feng missiles that are now positioned on some 20 ships point to a strengthening in Taiwan’s normally low-key domestic missile production. But its military might is growing at a time when relations with Beijing are better than ever.

China’s Missiles Targeted at Taiwan to Increase to 2,000

Despite efforts to restore military reconciliation through pullout of missiles and confidence building mechanism, China is said to reinforce its defense along its southeast coastlines by increasing the existing some 1,500 missiles to at least 1,800 with an aim to counter America’s potential presence in the Taiwan Strait, said an intelligence senior official, according to Liberty Times report today.

Even if China is determined to dismount its missiles targeted at Taiwan to show its goodwill in the maintenance of cross-strait stability, the scheduled production plans of missiles will continue. A number of missile brigades wll still be established. And in fact, some of the exercises toward Taiwan are moved inland or replaced by war games, leading to the impression that the frequency of drills have been lowered, the anonymous official said.