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Missile drill to show Taiwan's resolve to defend itself: scholar

ROC Central News Agency

2011/01/17 23:13:07

By Emmanuelle Tzeng and Sofia Wu

Taipei, Jan. 17 (CNA) A live-fire air defense exercise to be staged at a maximum-guarded air base in southern Taiwan Tuesday will demonstrate Taiwan's resolve to defend itself in the face of China's threat, an academic said Monday.

"The drill at the Jiupeng air base in Pingtung County will show the world our resolve to defend our own country," said Alexander C.C. Huang, an assistant professor at Tamkang University's Graduate Institute of International Affairs and Strategic Studies.

The Ministry of National Defense said the missile test-firing drill is simply part of routine training exercises.

But it has drawn considerable attention locally because it was scheduled on the same day of Chinese President Hu Jintao's departure for a state visit to the United States and closely follows China's first-known test flight of its radar-eluding stealth fighter J-20.

Huang said he has not seen any convincing evidence to validate the speculation that the defense ministry had deliberately scheduled the missile drill to coincide with Hu's U.S. visit.

"We can only say that the military has not tried to avoid the sensitive timing," Huang said.

He further said missile development could be Taiwan's asymmetric strategy or option to cope with China's progress in stealth fighter research.

Ruling Kuomintang Legislator Shuai Hua-ming, a military officer-turned-lawmaker, echoed Huang's views that Taiwan should put more emphasis on missile development and deployment rather than on acquisition of advanced fighters.

While Taiwan's three main fighter fleets -- F-16 A/Bs, Mirage-2000-5s and IDFs -- are all aging and require replacement, Shuai said the country has had difficulty acquiring new aircraft, meaning Taiwan needed to focus more on missile development.

"As an asymmetric defense strategy, we should focus more on the development of missile technologies to make up for our deficiency in fighter fleets. Our Tien-kung, Tien-chien and Patriot missiles are advanced air defense weapons," Shui added.

Tuesday's air defense drill will be the largest since President Ma Ying-jeou assumed office in May 2008, military sources said.

According to a press statement issued by the Ministry of National Defense, 17 types of missiles, including Tien-kung, Hawk, Sparrow, Avenger Stinger, vehicle-launched Tien-chien I and various air-to-air missiles, will be test-fired,

Moreover, 61 journalists representing 39 local and foreign media outlets, including from the United States and Japan, have been invited to watch the drill, the ministry said.

President Ma will witness the exercise in his capacity as commander-in-chief of the country's armed forces.