Lankan Ranger
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New Taiwanese missiles could reach China
Taiwan is building missiles capable of hitting the Chinese mainland as Beijing continues to deploy more weapons aimed at Taiwan in spite of a recent thaw in ties.
Taiwans deputy defence minister this week confirmed that the island was developing two cruise missile systems, which were previously the subject of speculation.
On Friday, a government spokesman said Chao Shih-chang, the deputy defence minister, told parliament that the programmes were making smooth progress.
Taiwanese officials describe the Chuifeng and Chichun missiles Chinese for chasing the wind and lance hawk, respectively as the islands response to the hostile build-up of Chinese missiles aimed across the Taiwan Strait.
Analysts say the missiles could hit targets in south-eastern China. People close to the government say the island started developing the missiles at least a year ago.
Taiwans defence ministry estimates that China has as many as 1,900 missiles aimed at Taiwan, up from about 1,500 two years ago. The Pentagon said in August that Chinas military was pulling further ahead from Taiwans. It cited more weapons aimed at the island, deadlier missiles and a greater risk of accidental conflict between the two sides.
The move to develop missiles capable of hitting mainland targets comes as the US, which has traditionally supplied Taiwan with advanced weapons, has delayed selling some arms to Taiwan, partly out of concern about relations with China.
Beijing protests to Washington every time the US announces weapons sale to Taiwan. The US has not approved several Taiwanese requests for key arms, including F-16 fighter jets.
From Washingtons perspective, any sale of arms to Taiwan is a political one, not a defence-related one, so in terms of the major items that Taiwan wants, I really dont think theyre going to get anything before the 2012 [US and Taiwan presidential] elections, said Raymond Wu, managing director of E-telligence, a Taipei-based political risk consultancy.
Robert Gates, US defence secretary, will next month visit China in an effort to improve relations between the US and Chinese militaries.
Virtually no other country is willing to sell Taiwan arms for fear of upsetting China, on whose economy other countries increasingly depend for trade.
Taiwan has opted to develop weapons indigenously as the balance of power across the Taiwan Strait tilts more towards China.
While the sides have held trade talks since 2008 when the conciliatory Ma Ying-jeou was elected Taiwans president, negotiators have steered away from the 60-year-old political disputes that occasionally put them on the brink of war.
Mainland China has claimed sovereignty over democratic, self-ruled Taiwan since the Nationalist party lost the Chinese civil war of the 1940s and fled to the island.
China has so far not commented on the news that Taiwan was developing the cruise missiles.
The past two years of detente have opened numerous informal channels for diplomacy between the two sides, said Liu Yi-jiun, a professor at Fo Guang University in Taiwan.
Communist China has an increasingly strong understanding of Taiwan, so it wont take any outrageous action such as threats or blackmail, said Mr Liu.
FT.com / Asia-Pacific - New Taiwanese missiles could reach China
Taiwan is building missiles capable of hitting the Chinese mainland as Beijing continues to deploy more weapons aimed at Taiwan in spite of a recent thaw in ties.
Taiwans deputy defence minister this week confirmed that the island was developing two cruise missile systems, which were previously the subject of speculation.
On Friday, a government spokesman said Chao Shih-chang, the deputy defence minister, told parliament that the programmes were making smooth progress.
Taiwanese officials describe the Chuifeng and Chichun missiles Chinese for chasing the wind and lance hawk, respectively as the islands response to the hostile build-up of Chinese missiles aimed across the Taiwan Strait.
Analysts say the missiles could hit targets in south-eastern China. People close to the government say the island started developing the missiles at least a year ago.
Taiwans defence ministry estimates that China has as many as 1,900 missiles aimed at Taiwan, up from about 1,500 two years ago. The Pentagon said in August that Chinas military was pulling further ahead from Taiwans. It cited more weapons aimed at the island, deadlier missiles and a greater risk of accidental conflict between the two sides.
The move to develop missiles capable of hitting mainland targets comes as the US, which has traditionally supplied Taiwan with advanced weapons, has delayed selling some arms to Taiwan, partly out of concern about relations with China.
Beijing protests to Washington every time the US announces weapons sale to Taiwan. The US has not approved several Taiwanese requests for key arms, including F-16 fighter jets.
From Washingtons perspective, any sale of arms to Taiwan is a political one, not a defence-related one, so in terms of the major items that Taiwan wants, I really dont think theyre going to get anything before the 2012 [US and Taiwan presidential] elections, said Raymond Wu, managing director of E-telligence, a Taipei-based political risk consultancy.
Robert Gates, US defence secretary, will next month visit China in an effort to improve relations between the US and Chinese militaries.
Virtually no other country is willing to sell Taiwan arms for fear of upsetting China, on whose economy other countries increasingly depend for trade.
Taiwan has opted to develop weapons indigenously as the balance of power across the Taiwan Strait tilts more towards China.
While the sides have held trade talks since 2008 when the conciliatory Ma Ying-jeou was elected Taiwans president, negotiators have steered away from the 60-year-old political disputes that occasionally put them on the brink of war.
Mainland China has claimed sovereignty over democratic, self-ruled Taiwan since the Nationalist party lost the Chinese civil war of the 1940s and fled to the island.
China has so far not commented on the news that Taiwan was developing the cruise missiles.
The past two years of detente have opened numerous informal channels for diplomacy between the two sides, said Liu Yi-jiun, a professor at Fo Guang University in Taiwan.
Communist China has an increasingly strong understanding of Taiwan, so it wont take any outrageous action such as threats or blackmail, said Mr Liu.
FT.com / Asia-Pacific - New Taiwanese missiles could reach China
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