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China is likely to have 800 ballistic missiles targeting Taiwan before the end of 2006, Taipei’s defense minister said Sept. 20 as he pressed the case for an 18 billion dollar special defense budget.
Lee Jye told parliament’s defense committee that the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) now operates some 600 short-range ballistic missiles -- mostly deployed in coastal provinces facing Taiwan.
"The number of Dong Feng-11 and Dong Feng-15 ballistic missiles is expected to rise to 800 before the end of 2006," Lee said.
Should war break out in the Taiwan Strait, the PLA could launch five waves of extensive strikes lasting for 10 hours, he said.
"They may also fire 200-odd cruise missiles from bases 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) away from Taiwan to attack the island’s key targets," Lee said. "Given missile defensive capabilities, we are hardly able to cope with the threat."
Since pro-independence president Chen Shui-bian was re-elected in March, Beijing has stressed its long-standing vow to take Taiwan by force should it declare formal independence.
Lee said Taiwan’s other armed forces are also inferior to China’s and China’s sustained rise in military spending is expected further to tilt the balance towards the mainland in coming years.
The number of China’s second-generation military aircraft like the Russian-made Su-27 and Su-30 may increase to 400 in two years from 300 now, he said.
China’s military spending, which rose at an average double-digit rate over the past decade, is estimated at $24.5 billion in 2004.
Taiwan’s defense outlays in 2004 were 264.1 Taiwan dollars ($7.76 billion) after peaking in 1999 at 284.5 billion Taiwan dollars.
Military analysts say the island’s military commands, communications, airports and seaports would be vulnerable to surprise missile attacks.
Taiwan has put into service three U.S.-made PAC-2 anti-missile systems to protect the greater Taipei area, and is planning to acquire six more improved PAC-3 systems. The Patriot weaponry is part of a controversial arms sales package offered by US President George W. Bush in April 2002.
The cabinet has approved plans to spend 610 billion Taiwan dollars ($18.2 billion) on the package, which also includes eight U.S.-built submarines and a fleet of submarine-hunting P-3C aircraft, over a 15-year period from 2005.
The deal will go to parliament for approval toward the end of the year.
Li Weiyi, spokesman for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, on Sept. 29 criticized Taiwan’s proposed arms package. He cited a protest rally staged in Taipei over the weekend as proof that it was not supported by the island’s people.
"For the Chinese people, there is nothing more important or holy than protecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of China," Li said.
Tensions escalated over the weekend when Taiwan Premier Yu Shyi-kun threatened to strike Shanghai with missiles if major cities in Taiwan were attacked.
Media reports have suggested Taiwan is involved in research efforts to improve its missile capability, some of which could eventually hit cities on China’s east coast.
The two sides split in 1949 at the end of a civil war on the mainland that was won by the communists.
http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?F=380724&C=asiapac
Lee Jye told parliament’s defense committee that the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) now operates some 600 short-range ballistic missiles -- mostly deployed in coastal provinces facing Taiwan.
"The number of Dong Feng-11 and Dong Feng-15 ballistic missiles is expected to rise to 800 before the end of 2006," Lee said.
Should war break out in the Taiwan Strait, the PLA could launch five waves of extensive strikes lasting for 10 hours, he said.
"They may also fire 200-odd cruise missiles from bases 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) away from Taiwan to attack the island’s key targets," Lee said. "Given missile defensive capabilities, we are hardly able to cope with the threat."
Since pro-independence president Chen Shui-bian was re-elected in March, Beijing has stressed its long-standing vow to take Taiwan by force should it declare formal independence.
Lee said Taiwan’s other armed forces are also inferior to China’s and China’s sustained rise in military spending is expected further to tilt the balance towards the mainland in coming years.
The number of China’s second-generation military aircraft like the Russian-made Su-27 and Su-30 may increase to 400 in two years from 300 now, he said.
China’s military spending, which rose at an average double-digit rate over the past decade, is estimated at $24.5 billion in 2004.
Taiwan’s defense outlays in 2004 were 264.1 Taiwan dollars ($7.76 billion) after peaking in 1999 at 284.5 billion Taiwan dollars.
Military analysts say the island’s military commands, communications, airports and seaports would be vulnerable to surprise missile attacks.
Taiwan has put into service three U.S.-made PAC-2 anti-missile systems to protect the greater Taipei area, and is planning to acquire six more improved PAC-3 systems. The Patriot weaponry is part of a controversial arms sales package offered by US President George W. Bush in April 2002.
The cabinet has approved plans to spend 610 billion Taiwan dollars ($18.2 billion) on the package, which also includes eight U.S.-built submarines and a fleet of submarine-hunting P-3C aircraft, over a 15-year period from 2005.
The deal will go to parliament for approval toward the end of the year.
Li Weiyi, spokesman for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, on Sept. 29 criticized Taiwan’s proposed arms package. He cited a protest rally staged in Taipei over the weekend as proof that it was not supported by the island’s people.
"For the Chinese people, there is nothing more important or holy than protecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of China," Li said.
Tensions escalated over the weekend when Taiwan Premier Yu Shyi-kun threatened to strike Shanghai with missiles if major cities in Taiwan were attacked.
Media reports have suggested Taiwan is involved in research efforts to improve its missile capability, some of which could eventually hit cities on China’s east coast.
The two sides split in 1949 at the end of a civil war on the mainland that was won by the communists.
http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?F=380724&C=asiapac
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