Taiwan to test less robust eastern defences with month-long missile drills

Live-fire exercises involving air and naval forces will focus on an area less fortified than the island’s west side
Experts warn that stepped-up PLA deployments in the region could signal a future naval blockade by Beijing

Taiwan

Lawrence Chungin Taipei

Published: 8:30pm, 1 Aug 2023

Why you can trust SCMP

Taiwan’s military will stage a series of missile drills this month in waters off its eastern coastline to test combat readiness amid growing concerns that Beijing could send forces to attack the island from its less fortified east.

The drills will involve air and naval forces firing air and ship-launched missiles at targets in three restricted zones in waters off the east and southeast coast of the self-ruled island, according to a notice issued by Taiwan’s Fisheries Agency.

The live-fire exercises will be held in five separate sessions from this week until August 31. The agency has warned other aircraft and vessels to avoid the restricted zones at those times.

Taiwan military’s plan to use mountain shield called into question

Both the air force and the navy will send their missile-equipped fleets to the drills and test their combat readiness, a military source said on Tuesday.

“The air force will examine the precision firing abilities of its F-16s, Mirage-2005s, and IDF fighter jets which will be equipped with AIM-120 medium-range air-to-air missiles, Mica anti-air multi-target missiles, and Tien Chien-2 (Sky Sword II) beyond-visual-range air-to-air missiles, respectively,” the source said on condition of anonymity.

AGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missiles will also be used to test the ability of the F-16s to strike enemy ships, the source said, adding that the navy will also deploy warships to strike enemy vessels with ship-launched missiles, including the Hsiung Feng III medium-range supersonic missiles.

03:01

China’s PLA sends dozens of warplanes near Taiwan as island holds annual Han Kuang military drills

“More than 100 missiles are expected to be fired in the drills, with ranges far enough to clear the Taiwan Strait,” the source said.

Beijing views Taiwan as its territory, which must be brought under its control, by force if necessary. Cross-strait tensions have risen since Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, of the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party, was elected in 2016. She has refused to accept Beijing’s one-China principle.

As a result, Beijing has suspended cross-strait talks and official exchanges with the island, while ramping up pressure on Taipei by staging war games in the region and poaching Taiwan’s allies. Like most countries, the United States – Taiwan’s biggest informal ally and arms supplier – does not recognise the island as an independent state but is opposed to the unilateral change of the cross-strait status quo by force.

The source said that with the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) stepping up sabre-rattling against Taiwan and increasing its activities off the island’s east coast, the missile drills are one of the important exercises required to enhance the military’s combat readiness in the east.

For years, Taiwan has focused its military fortifications on the west of the island – the side closest to mainland China – as the east is shielded by the Central Mountain Range, making it harder for the PLA to attack.

But since the PLA stepped up deployments of warplanes and warships to areas off southeast and eastern Taiwan, local military experts have warned that it could be expanding its forces close to eastern Taiwan in a bid to reinforce its ability to attack the island from the east during a potential conflict.

EU leader warns against China’s aggression in Asia during Philippines speech

Shu Hsiao-huang, an analyst at the Institute for National Defence and Security Research, a government think tank in Taipei, said that by expanding its forces to eastern Taiwan, the PLA hoped to form an effective blockade against the island in the event of a cross-strait conflict.

“But to achieve this [blockade] goal, the PLA needs to secure at least partial supremacy in the West Pacific to deny access to US forces from there,” he said, referring to the region of the Pacific Ocean facing the island’s east and southeast coast.