Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

SECRET CRUISE MISSILE DEPLOYMENT TV REPORT 'SHEER FABRICATION': MND

ROC Central News Agency

2005-08-12 12:23:09

    Taipei, Aug. 12 (CNA) The Ministry of National Defense (MND) spokesman on Friday referred as a "sheer fabrication" to a media report claiming that locally-built cruise missiles have secretly begun to be deployed on the island.

    MND spokesman Liu Chih-chian said that the defense ministry does not comment on fabricated reports.

    According to the local cable television report, the secretly deployed "Hsiungfeng 2E" cruise missiles have become the Taiwan military's first "strategic force." In the future, the report said, the MND Missile Command will set up three cruise missile squadrons, with each squadron being equipped with 18 to 24 Hsiungfeng 2E cruise missiles.

    The Hsiungfeng 2E cruise missile, a modified version of the locally-built Hsiungfeng II anti-ship missile, is a mid-range land-based mobile strategic missile.

    A local newspaper reported June 5 that Hsiungfeng 2E cruise missiles have been tested successfully.

(By Deborah Kuo)

ENDITEM/Li