Taiwan starts manufacturing long-range missiles because of the increasing

Taipei: Taiwan, which claimed that China is preparing for war, has started increasing the level of its preparedness and capabilities. Taiwanese Defence Minister Chiu Kou-Sheng informed that Taiwan has started manufacturing indigenously developed long-range missiles on a mass scale. It is also being said that Taiwan has expedited the indigenous development of three new missiles. At the same time, the Taiwanese Foreign Minister informed that a cooperation agreement would soon be signed with the US coast guard for the Taiwanese marine region’s security.

The Chinese activities in the South China Sea have become more aggressive since Joe Biden took over as the President of the United States. China, which has been holding war exercises in the marine regions close to Taiwan, has reportedly started exerting pressure on other countries. Chief of the US Indo-Pacific Command, Admiral Philip Davidson, had pointed out the rising Chinese threat during his hearing in front of the US Congress. Admiral Davidson had warned during the hearing that China could attack Taiwan in the next six years.

Taiwan government has taken serious cognisance of these developments and has started taking significant steps towards war preparedness and capabilities. Taiwan recently informed that the defence deployment on the Itu Aba Island, in the Paracel Islands region, has been increased. Many analysts and serving and former officials claim that the Taiwanese weapons arsenal is grossly insufficient to counter China.

Against this background, while increasing the speed of weapons purchase from the United States, Taiwan has also increased stress on indigenous development of fighter jets, submarine, warships, and even missiles. The indigenous development is being carried out at the Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology in Taiwan. The Defence Minister informed the Parliament that the long-range missile out of these is already in production.

He said that other than these, three indigenous missiles are being developed. Defence Minister Kou-Sheng assured that at the same time, the Taiwanese defence department would be focusing on the development of the High Precision Mobile Air Defence System. A report published by the Taiwanese defence department said that ‘Far Strike Capability’ will be an essential factor if you think of a war with China. Against this background, the information given by the Taiwanese Defence Minister becomes significant.

Meanwhile, Taiwan has indicated cooperating with the United States to stop the increasing Chinese intrusions in the Taiwanese marine limits. Foreign Minister Joseph Wu informed that an agreement between the United States and Taiwan would soon be signed for this purpose.