Medium-range missile being developed by Taiwan: Report

Medium-range missile being developed by Taiwan: Report

TAIPEI (Agencies): Taiwan is secretly researching and
developing a medium-range ballistic missile in the face of a
perceived threat from China, military sources said in a newspaper
on Monday.

Military authorities hope to develop a surface-to-surface
missile with a range of up to 2,000 kilometers, the unidentified
sources told The United Daily News.

But the defense ministry denied the claim. "The report was not
correct. The military has not embarked on related RetD (research
and development) programs," it said in a statement.

The paper said the development of such a missile would not be
difficult for the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology,
the island's cradle of indigenous weaponry including jet
fighters, air defense missiles and radar systems.

It said the planned missile, inspired by the 1996 missile
crisis, was intended to put China on the defensive and force it
to divert a big chunk of military budget to defense programs.

Taiwan's defense ministry has said China's Peoples Liberation
Army (PLA) has some 300 ballistic missiles trained on the island.

Taiwan leaders have warned of an ever-growing battery of
missiles on the Chinese coast where up to 500 missiles have been
deployed within easy range of Taiwan's main political, economic
and military facilities.

Taiwan plans to build a missile shield estimated to cost tens
of billions of U.S. dollars, which the paper said dwarfs the
amount of money pumped into the ballistic missiles the PLA has
deployed along the southeastern part of the mainland.

China views Taiwan as a breakaway province and has vowed to
attack if the island declares independence or drags its feet
indefinitely on unification talks.

The paper said the missile development program had been given
priority after it was briefed to President Chen Shui-bian last
year.

Taiwan's Vice Defense Minister Chen Pi-chao said last month
the island would go ahead with its weapons development plans
despite its massive purchase of arms from the U.S..

In April the new Bush administration approved the single
biggest arms package to Taiwan in nearly a decade. It included
eight diesel-powered submarines, 12 P-3C "sub-hunting" patrol
aircraft and four Kidd class destroyers.

Beijing has strongly opposed the arms sale to the island which
it regards as an inalienable part of China.

Over Beijing's objection, Washington agreed in 1993 to sell
Taiwan the Patriot Advanced Capability, or PAC-2, anti-missile
system. Taiwan has said it would test-fire its Patriot missiles
this month but has given no details.

PAC-2 is deployed only in northern Taiwan to protect the
Taipei area, the island's political and economic center.

Under Washington's pressure, Taiwan was forced to terminate
its plan to develop surface-to-surface "Tien Ma" (Sky Horse)
missile in the 1980s. The missile was designed with a range of
1,000 kilometers.