Taiwan The US Navy tested some of its main precision missiles on Tuesday during exercises at the southern tip of the island, with the aim of “verifying the effectiveness of troop training and the command and control capacity in joint air defence operations.”
The exercises took place in the southern county of Pingtungspecifically at the base of Jiupengwhere the Air Force carried out the launch of two missiles Patriot PAC-IIof American manufacture, and a missile Tien-Kung IIIof national production.
The Navy also participated in these maneuvers by deploying a missile-launching frigate, which was responsible for testing the RIM-66 surface-to-air missile.
“All the missiles launched today have successfully hit their targets. This proves two things: first, that the training of our military personnel is very solid; second, that our equipment has been verified throughout the validation process and live firing.”said the spokesman for Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense (MON), Sun Li-fangbefore the media.
According to local media, the Army also took advantage of the maneuvers to test the improved version of the Hsiung Feng II-E, a cruise missile with a range of 1,200 kilometers, meaning it would have the capacity to attack mainland China.
Without confirming or denying these rumours, the MDN spokesman stressed that all exercises “were carried out in accordance with the annual plan” of the Armed Forces.
“Some of the missiles tested are more sensitive, so we will not comment on what type of missiles were used in those exercises.”Sun said in comments reported by state news agency CNA.
The Jiupeng base has been used for decades by the Army and the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST)Taiwan’s top weapons developer, to test new weaponry, and has rarely opened its doors to the media.
Most experts agree that anti-aircraft and anti-ship missiles are Taiwan’s most important assets in containing a potential invasion by Chinawhich considers the self-governing territory a “rebel province.”
Two weeks ago, Taiwanese President, William Lai (Lai Ching-te), announced his intention to increase the island’s defense budget to a “historic high” of 647 billion New Taiwan dollars (about 20.263 billion U.S. dollars) by 2025, which represents a year-on-year jump of 6%.
If approved by Parliament, the defence budget will account for around 20% of the government’s total spending for 2025 and will represent around 2.5% of GDP. EFE (I)
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