Taiwan Deploys Supersonic Missiles in Response to China

[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] Taiwan has increased military tensions with China by deploying supersonic anti-ship missiles in Taichung, facing China.

On the 30th, local Taiwanese media reported that the construction of a new base for the Haifeng Battalion, operating the supersonic Haifeng-3 anti-ship missiles in the Qingshui area of central Taichung, about 200 km from Fujian, China, has been completed.

This base houses Taiwan Navy's Haifeng Battalion, Mobile 2nd Company, and Support Company, and is adjacent to buildings belonging to the Coast Guard fleet, facilitating the dispersed deployment and movement of missile launch vehicles in emergencies.

The construction of this new base by the Taiwanese military is reportedly related to the "Xunlei Project," which includes the establishment of 4 to 5 mobile missile companies, the purchase of 36 new Haifeng-2 missiles, and plans to upgrade existing Haifeng-2 missiles.

Earlier, Taiwanese media reported that with the introduction of the Harpoon Coastal Defense System (HCDS), the current brigade-level Haifeng unit of about 700 personnel would be reorganized under a major general-level "Navy Coastal Defense Missile Command," and 10 to 12 companies responsible for operating Harpoon missiles would be newly established.

Taiwan's national defense research institute, the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST), has initiated the "Panlong Project" to extend the range of the Haifeng-3, developed to directly target Chinese aircraft carriers. In December last year, it succeeded in a test launch extending the range from 150 km to 400 km, and mass production is expected to begin this year.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.