Taiwan Puts First Long Range Missiles into Mass Production

Taiwan has begun mass production of its first class of long-range surface to surface missiles, and has three further classes under development according to a senior official’s statement on March 25th. Taking questions in parliament from lawmakers, Defence Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng said that developing a long-range strike capability was a priority. “We hope it is long-range, accurate and mobile,” he said, highlighting that research on such weapons programs by the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology had “never stopped”. The institute’s deputy director Leng Chin-hsu said it was “not convenient” for him to provide details on the missiles’ exact range. The statement followed a series of missile tests using designs developed by the institute off Taiwan’s southeastern coast.

The government of Taiwan, officially the Republic of China, claims to be the rightful government of the entire Chinese nation including the mainland. It has the international status of a non-state actor however, with no representation or recognition at the United Nations and negligible recognition by member states. Taiwan and the mainland have been officially at war for over 70 years, with the island located just 130km from the mainland and relying heavily on Western protection and support to maintain its war effort. 

As Taiwan is not a UN member state it does to have an inalienable right to arm itself, although it has received considerable quantities of armaments from the United States with over $10 billion worth of contracts signed under the Donald Trump administration. With its air force considered obsolete in the face of the mainland, mobile ballistic missiles are seen as a way of asymmetrically ensuring a strike capability against mainland targets. The mainland notably deploys one of the world’s largest surface to air missile networks, which can intercept thousands of ballistic missile attacks simultaneously and has proven capable of intercepting hypersonic missiles in tests. Taiwan is not expected to be able to field hypersonic missiles - an asset none of its defence partners have. China today deploys the world’s only known ground based long ranged hypersonic glide vehicle designed for tactical attacks - an asset which is expected to play a major role in any future conflict in the Taiwan Strait.