TAIWAN IMPROVES ITS MISSILES TO COUNTER CHINA’S MILITARY EXPANSION

>> TAIPEI: Taiwan is responding to China’s arms buildup by developing missiles and interceptors of its own that could reduce Beijing’s military advantage over the selfruled island, defence experts say.

Since President Tsai Ing-wen took office in 2016, Taiwan has deployed one set of missiles, perfected another and sped production of a third, the analysts say, in the latest sign of how it’s handling a Chinese military threat that is raising the chances of an armed confrontation.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has taken a hard line against advocates of independence for the self-governed island democracy and has sent warships, bombers and fighter planes on training missions circling the island in a show of strength.

While Beijing has an i ncreasingly overwhelming military advantage, Taiwan’s missile systems advance its odds of holding off China in asymmetrical warfare, said Alexander Huang, strategic studies professor at Tamkang University in Taiwan. The term refers to effective resistance of an enemy with targeted firepower rather than overwhelming force.

“Taiwan with limited resources can only invest in the area that would create some kind of asymmetrical advantage, which would dissuade the Chinese from taking actions,’’ Mr Huang said. “Ms Tsai has committed more or at least expressed willingness to invest more in the asymmetrical capability.’’

The two sides have been separately ruled since the Chinese civil war of the 1940s, and China still claims sovereignty over Taiwan. Beijing has not ruled out using force to unify the sides, a threat it has highlighted amid Ms Tsai’s continuing rejection of its demand that both interact as parts of a single Chinese nation.

Hsiung Feng IIE missiles built in Taiwan have been deployed to hit military bases in China up to 1,500 kilometres away, said David An, senior research fellow with the policy incubator Global Taiwan Institute in Washington.

Those missiles also underwent a “substantial upgrade’’ last year to increase their effectiveness against ships, Mr An said.

Meanwhile, Taiwan has stepped up production of its indigenous Wan Chien air-to-ground cruise missiles by about 100, Mr An added.

Backing up those improvements, the locally developed Tien Kung system can now intercept Chinese missiles at ranges of up to 200 kilometres, Mr An said. PAVE PAW, a US long-range early warning radar system located in Taiwan’s high central mountain range, would track incoming missiles or aircraft.

Taiwanese Defence Ministry spokesman Chen Chung-chi declined to confirm deployment of the Hsiung Feng IIE missiles after military news website Kanwa Defence Review posted photos indicating they were situated about 50 kilometres west of the capital Taipei near the island’s major international airport.

China’s Defence Ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comments on Taiwan’s missile program.

“They are looking more at building their land-based military capabilities,’’ said Collin Koh, maritime security research fellow at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.

To pressure Ms Tsai into meeting its demands, the communist leadership has flown military aircraft near the island at least a dozen times and passed China’s only functioning aircraft carrier through the 160 kilometre ocean strait separating the two landmasses.

China has a powerful arsenal of missiles targeting Taiwan and raised its military budget by 8.1% this year, compared to Taiwan’s increase of about 2% in 2017-2018. China is building warships at record pace, while also developing stealth fighters and bomb delivering vehicles that travel at up to six times the speed of sound.