Taiwan silent on missile capable of reaching Shanghai - Rumsfeld meets Chinese defence chief

AFP - Reuters via Daily Times ^ | 10-31-03

[tallhappy]

Taiwan silent on missile capable of reaching Shanghai

* Warhead could also be used to attack Hong Kong, southeast coastal cities

TAIPEI: Taiwan’s defence ministry was tight-lipped Wednesday on a report that the military has been quietly developing a medium-range surface-to-surface missile capable of attacking rival China’s Shanghai.

The Apple Daily newspaper said the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology — the military’s weapons development unit — for the first time test-fired the missile in Chiupeng, the heavily guarded missile base in the southern Pingtung County, on September 25.

The missile, designed with a range of between 600 kilometres and 900 kilometres, could be used to attack Shanghai, Hong Kong and major coastal cities in the southeast of China should a war break out across the Taiwan Strait, the daily said. It said that the missile could be launched to an altitude of up to 24 kilometres by four attached rockets and then powered by a thrust engine to fly at a speed of Mach-six before it dived at its target. The test-fire was botched after the thrust engine failed to start, Apple Daily said, however.

“Once successful, the missile would mark a critical breakthrough in the development of a strike-back capability against any missile blitz by China,” it said.

The defence ministry declined to comment on the report, but its brief statement on the stance of weapons development was seen as unusual by military experts. “The country’s national defence technology development has been guided by the principle of ‘effective deterrent, strengthening defence’,” the ministry said. “We’re not afraid of fighting and are ready to fight when necessary, but we are not going to fire the first shot,” it added.

Taiwan’s long-range missile capabilities have been a point of controversy for decades, with Washington’s pressure stalling efforts since the 1970s to develop such weapons. However, Apple Daily said Taiwan and the US seemed to have reached a “tacit understanding” this time around as the state-of-the-art global positioning system used in its guidance system was from the United States.

Taiwan is keen to defend itself against perceived attacks from across the Taiwan Strait. Beijing rattled Taiwanese nerves when the People’s Liberation Army lobbed ballistic missiles into shipping lanes off Taiwan’s two major harbours in 1996 in an effort to intimidate Taiwan against voting for Lee Teng-hui, the then president seeking another four-year term.

Since then, Taiwan has purchased three batteries of US-made PAC-2 Plus anti-missile weaponry and hopes to later buy the more advanced PAC-3 systems. It is also developing its own Tien Kung (Sky Bow) missile shield. —AFP

Rumsfeld meets Chinese defence chief

WASHINGTON: Chinese Defence Minister Cao Gangchuan met with US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on Tuesday and discussed North Korea’s nuclear ambitions and Sino-American military ties, US officials said. The talks were the latest sign the icy military relations between the two countries in recent years have begun to thaw. The Pentagon said in a statement Rumsfeld and Cao “discussed a wide range of global and regional security issues including the state of bilateral military relations between the US and China.” “The talks were described as productive and constructive. Both sides have agreed to arrange further visits of the military leaders in 2004,” the statement said. Cao became the first Chinese defence chief to visit the Pentagon since 1996. Meanwhile, China warned Wednesday it could have repercussions for US relations if Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian were allowed to engage in “unsuitable” activities during a transit in New York. “If Chen engages in unsuitable activities during this transit to the United States, it could directly impact the overall US-China relationship,” said Zhang Mingqing, spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs Office. —Reuters/AFP

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[zook]

Chiupeng, the heavily guarded missile base in the southern Pingtung County

Hey! I was there last year! Didn't see any missiles, but did see a lot of AWACs planes and did meet Air Force General Wu.

[RightWhale]

Such a missile would do Taiwan no good militarily, and it wouldn't do much at all unless it had a nuke warhead or if there were 100,000 of them ready to launch any moment.

[old patriot]

Such a missile would do Taiwan no good militarily, and it wouldn't do much at all unless it had a nuke warhead or if there were 100,000 of them ready to launch any moment.

You miss the whole point of this action. Back in 1948 and 1949 the ChiNats were bombing Shanghai almost nightly, with Beijing not being able to stop them. This was a clear challenge to their authority and their ability to control the rebels on Formosa. It was only with the additional help of Russian MiG-15s and a whole lot of MiG-9s that the ChiNats had to rethink their nightly bombing of the mainland with their B-25s and B-24s. The existance of a single missile capable of striking the mainland is a threat in Beijing's eyes.

Good for them. I hope that we sell them a bunch of the old Pershing IIs to help them in the interim, as if that would happen with our current administration.

Old Patriot

[Eric in the Ozarks]

As many times as the Red Chinese have threatened Taiwan, this is no surprise.

[gcruse]

A counterpunch. That ROCs!

[old patriot]

Beijing is all bluff unless they think that they can win in less than three weeks, no drawn out afare. But for those three to four weeks, they are hell-on-earth. But they can be stopped with enough real fire-power, like a carrier gtoup and a few SSBN subs parked in the Western Pacific. That would scald their plans for a quick take over.

Old Patriot