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Lawrence Chung lawrence.chung@scmp.com
1 day ago
Taiwan has test-fired missiles off its east and southern coasts as part of its missile development programme. Photo: CNA
Taiwan has test-fired missiles off its eastern and southern coasts as part of its missile development programme launched to bolster the self-ruled island's boosting defence against mainland China.
The test took place off the eastern county of Taitung and the Jiupeng military base in the southernmost county of Pingtung on Thursday night, according to Taiwan's defence ministry.
It was part of a four-day programme that would see other missiles tested in the coming days, according to the Taiwan Fisheries Agency which notified the public of the test dates and sites to warn off fishermen operating near the area.
Tensions over the Taiwan Strait are rising as mainland China, the United States and Taiwan have boosted military deployment. On Tuesday, a group of Chinese Sukhoi Su-30 fighter jets flew southwest into Taiwan, several hours after a US C-40A transport plane made a rare flight into Taiwan over the southwest coast.
The defence ministry declined to say which type of missiles were tested on Thursday night. It would not confirm or deny that there would be more tests between Friday and Tuesday as the fisheries agency had publicised.
The missile developer, National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology, which test-fired the missiles, also declined to name the missiles, saying the test was in line with the defence ministry's plan to develop the island's own weapons.
Local news media quoted unnamed military experts as saying the missiles fired from Pingtung would have been the Tien Kung-3 (Sky Bow-3) 200km-range surface-to-air missile designed to intercept guided missiles coming from mainland China. The Tien Kung-3 successfully intercepted a missile fired from Taitung during the test, they said.
Beijing considers Taiwan a wayward province that must be returned to the mainland fold, by force if necessary. It has staged a spate of war games around Taiwan to try to intimidate the island and force the island's president, Tsai Ing-wen of the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party, to accept the one-China principle, which she has rejected since taking office as president in 2016.
The test came just two months after the island test-fired a Tien Kung-3 and a medium-range Yun Feng (Cloud Peak) land-attack cruise missile between April 5 and April 23 at the Jiupeng military base.
While the Tien Kung can intercept incoming missiles, the Yun Feng, which has a range of 1,500km, can strike targets in inner China, including Beijing, Tianjin in China's north, Nanjing in eastern Jiangsu province, Shanghai in the east and Wuhan, Changsha and the Three Gorges Dam in central China.
Military commentator Song Zhongping said last night's Tien Kung-3 interception test would probably not be seen by the People's Liberation Army as a significant threat, because the target was a Tien Kung-2, which had a top speed of just Mach 4.3, while a ballistic missile in its terminal stage moved at more than Mach 10.
"It did not prove that the Tien Kung-3 is capable of intercepting a ballistic missile," he said. "So it won't affect the military power balance much."
Additional reporting by Liu Zhen
This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (www.scmp.com), the leading news media reporting on China and Asia.
https://www.msn.com/en-sg/news/othe...ic-warfare-against-mainland-china/ar-BB15nq3i
1 day ago
Taiwan has test-fired missiles off its eastern and southern coasts as part of its missile development programme launched to bolster the self-ruled island's boosting defence against mainland China.
The test took place off the eastern county of Taitung and the Jiupeng military base in the southernmost county of Pingtung on Thursday night, according to Taiwan's defence ministry.
It was part of a four-day programme that would see other missiles tested in the coming days, according to the Taiwan Fisheries Agency which notified the public of the test dates and sites to warn off fishermen operating near the area.
Tensions over the Taiwan Strait are rising as mainland China, the United States and Taiwan have boosted military deployment. On Tuesday, a group of Chinese Sukhoi Su-30 fighter jets flew southwest into Taiwan, several hours after a US C-40A transport plane made a rare flight into Taiwan over the southwest coast.
The defence ministry declined to say which type of missiles were tested on Thursday night. It would not confirm or deny that there would be more tests between Friday and Tuesday as the fisheries agency had publicised.
The missile developer, National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology, which test-fired the missiles, also declined to name the missiles, saying the test was in line with the defence ministry's plan to develop the island's own weapons.
Local news media quoted unnamed military experts as saying the missiles fired from Pingtung would have been the Tien Kung-3 (Sky Bow-3) 200km-range surface-to-air missile designed to intercept guided missiles coming from mainland China. The Tien Kung-3 successfully intercepted a missile fired from Taitung during the test, they said.
Beijing considers Taiwan a wayward province that must be returned to the mainland fold, by force if necessary. It has staged a spate of war games around Taiwan to try to intimidate the island and force the island's president, Tsai Ing-wen of the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party, to accept the one-China principle, which she has rejected since taking office as president in 2016.
The test came just two months after the island test-fired a Tien Kung-3 and a medium-range Yun Feng (Cloud Peak) land-attack cruise missile between April 5 and April 23 at the Jiupeng military base.
While the Tien Kung can intercept incoming missiles, the Yun Feng, which has a range of 1,500km, can strike targets in inner China, including Beijing, Tianjin in China's north, Nanjing in eastern Jiangsu province, Shanghai in the east and Wuhan, Changsha and the Three Gorges Dam in central China.
Military commentator Song Zhongping said last night's Tien Kung-3 interception test would probably not be seen by the People's Liberation Army as a significant threat, because the target was a Tien Kung-2, which had a top speed of just Mach 4.3, while a ballistic missile in its terminal stage moved at more than Mach 10.
"It did not prove that the Tien Kung-3 is capable of intercepting a ballistic missile," he said. "So it won't affect the military power balance much."
Additional reporting by Liu Zhen
This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (www.scmp.com), the leading news media reporting on China and Asia.
https://www.msn.com/en-sg/news/othe...ic-warfare-against-mainland-china/ar-BB15nq3i
