Agence France-Presse, Taiwan Defense Minister Lee Tien-yu said Wednesday that the military will exhibit its “deterrent” against arch rival China in a rare parade next week.
Lee’s remarks drew special attention as military analysts expected the ministry to unveil for the first time Hsiung-feng (Brave Wind) 2-E, a locally developed cruise missile which could be used to strike the Chinese mainland.
“The display of military equipment is a kind of effective deterrent, so that the Chinese communists would be aware that Taiwan is tough,” Lee said while visiting the opposition People First Party’s caucus in parliament.
China has vowed to invade Taiwan should the island declare formal independence, although they have been governed separately since 1949 at the end of a civil war.
Lee did not specify the weaponry to be displayed in the first military parade in more than a decade, but another defense ministry official told AFP “the Hsiung-feng series of missiles would be displayed.”
Military analysts say the cruise missile, if deployed, would signal that should war break out, it could be used to strike back at China, attacking military airports and missile bases in southeastern China and coastal cities such as Shanghai.
Local newspapers said Taiwan is building a missile base in Matsu, a fortified island group off China’s Fujian province.
Another eye-catching piece of weaponry expected in the parade is Hsiung-feng 3, a lethal supersonic ship-to-ship missile.
The upcoming parade would be the first since 1991 when thousands of military cadets and rank-and-file goose-stepped through the square in front of the presidential office in celebrations of the 80th anniversary of the Republic of China, Taiwan’s official title.
Military jets – U.S.-made F-16s, French-made Mirage 2000-5s and home-made Indigenous Defensive Fighters — would fly by during the celebrations, while the armed forces put their tanks, missiles and other weaponry on display.
The National Day celebrations on October 10 would be the last under President Chen Shui-bian who is nearing the end of his second and final term.
Chen, from the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party, has repeatedly accused China of provoking the island by targeting it with nearly 1,000 missiles.
