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| China-Japan-Koreas |
| Taiwan To Deploy Home-Grown Missile Shield |
| 2006-09-17 |
| Taiwan will introduce a new home-grown anti-missile shield next year as part of the island's efforts to boost defense capabilities against China, reports said Wednesday. The shield, known as the Anti Tactical Ballistic Missile (ATBM), is "expected to effectively counter the threat of China's M-9 and M-11 ballistic missiles," Taiwan's Apple Daily paper said, quoting an unnamed source. Aided by US-made early-warning radar, the system would play a crucial role in defending Taiwan's skies from attacks by Chinese ballistic missiles, the report said. The defense ministry declined to comment. The ATBM, evolved from the existing "Tienkung" (Sky Bow) missiles, had been scheduled to begin operating from 2005. The military-run Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology, its developer, has not explained the delay. The island's missile shield would eventually be composed of 12 ATBM batteries and an uncertain number of US-made Patriot missiles, the daily said. Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian in July renewed his warning of China's growing military threat, saying it was now targeting the island with 784 ballistic and 36 cruise missiles, and that the number of missiles was rising at the rate of 120 per year. A Pentagon report has said China is building up its military at a pace that is tipping the balance against Taiwan and could pose a credible threat to other armies in the region. Taiwan has installed three batteries of PAC-II Plus missiles, the improved version of the first Patriot, to defend the densely populated greater Taipei area. |
| Posted by:3dc |
| #2 Using ABMs in such circumstances is not cost-effective. The mainland rockets and missiles are for the most part cheap as dirt, and will easily outpace the ABM system with sheer numbers. The alternative is to have a crash program to create pulsed anti-missile lasers of two kinds. Fixed, high volume installations that can take down large salvos and protect large areas; and small, mobile units that can plug gaps and protect isolated targets like power plants. Then you save your PAC-3s for major missiles. The most important concept is to realize that the mainland will do everything on a gigantic scale, and are willing to accept horrific losses. As with the Normandy D-Day invasion, where the US was "willing" to accept 90% casualties for the beach head, they Chinese will anticipate losing that many resources and people to take Taiwan. They estimate that if they can land even a few Divisions on Taiwan, it will be impossible for the US to dislodge them, especially if they move into the cities and take the civilian population hostage. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2006-09-17 11:38 |
| #1 Go Taiwan. Make the Chinese Mandarins lose sleep. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2006-09-17 03:19 |