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Taiwan to test self-made rockets on island in South China Sea

ROC Central News Agency

08/04/2021 04:41 PM

Taipei, Aug. 4 (CNA) The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) is scheduled to hold two rounds of live-fire exercises on the Taiwan-held Pratas (Dongsha) Island in the South China Sea next month and will test an indigenous anti-armor rocket.

According to a notice issued by the CGA to warn aircraft and ships before the drill, the live-fire exercises will be staged from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Sept. 5 and Sept. 12, with an expected danger zone of up to eight nautical miles and a maximum projectile altitude of 12,000 feet.

The CGA notice does not specify what kind of weapons will be used during the exercises, saying only that they are part of annual drills.

However, CNA has learned that locally developed Kestrel anti-armor rockets will be used during both drills.

The rocket, developed by the military's top research unit, the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology, is an individual shoulder-launched weapon for anti-armor and concrete penetration.

With an effective range of 400 meters, the launcher is made from fiber-reinforced plastic and features an optical sight and a mounting for a night vision scope.

The drills are to be staged after Taiwan's military previously said it would soon deploy 292 Kestrel anti-armor rockets on the two territories it controls in the South China Sea to beef up their defense amid Beijing's increasing military incursions in the region.

Pratas Island, which lies 450 kilometers southwest of Kaohsiung, is one of two territories controlled by Taiwan in the South China Sea, the other being tiny Taiping Island, which lies 1,600 km southwest of Kaohsiung.

Currently the two locations are manned by CGA personnel trained by Taiwan's Marine Corps, but Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense said last year that it would temporarily post marines on Pratas Island amid reports the Chinese military planned to conduct drills in the area.

The military never revealed other details, such as the number of Marines deployed, when they arrived on the islands or how long they would stay.

Taiwan, Brunei, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam claim all or part of the South China Sea region as their territory.

(By Matt Yu and Joseph Yeh)

Enditem/AW