China will have 800 missiles aimed at Taiwan by 200510-08-2004
TAIPEI: China will have 800 missiles aimed at Taiwan by 2005, Vice President Annette Lu said on Monday, defending a controversial statement that the island and its giant communist foe were in a state of “quasi-war”.
That would be a substantial increase from the 500 missiles that Taiwan says China already has set up along its southeastern coast in preparation for a possible military showdown to take back the island it views as a renegade province.
“Mainland China has accelerated its missile deployment. By next year, the number of missiles will likely reach 800 and it is growing at a speed faster than we have expected,” she said in a briefing with foreign media reporters.
Lu said her “quasi-war” description last Friday, which prompted President Chen Shui-bian’s office to issue a rare denial to cool confrontational rhetoric with China, was an “objective description of the fact”. Chen said last November that China has deployed 500 missiles against Taiwan and is adding to them at a rate of one every six days. To meet that threat, he hopes parliament will approve a T$610 billion (US$18 billion) budget to buy US weapons.
“We will not provoke China, but we hope China will not take any irrational military actions against us,” Lu said.
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*Originally posted by rvikz: *
what if taiwan has 20 nukes would china attack?
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If there was any serious suggestion that the rebel forces in Taiwan may have, or may be acquiring, nuclear weaponry, then China would attack immediately to end the rebellion.
Better to face 20 Taiwanese nuclear weapons in a Chinese civil war today, than have to face 400 tomorrow.
If there was any serious suggestion that the rebel forces in Taiwan may have, or may be acquiring, nuclear weaponry, then China would attack immediately to end the rebellion.
Better to face 20 Taiwanese nuclear weapons in a Chinese civil war today, than have to face 400 tomorrow.
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it is easy to create a pakistani-indian situation between taiwan and china
800 is not overkill because these include surface to air missles which any nation needs hundreds, if they intending to degrade enemies air prowess.
But i think this is more intimidation than actual threats. Taiwan is really part of china just taiwan is getting encouragement from US to declare independece another sign of interference from the Amerikkans the proponents of violence around the world!
800 is not overkill, however, because they are not nuclear warheads.
They are each equivalent only to a large bomb, and give China the ability to wreck most Taiwanese overland military facilities.
Remember, China does not not have a large nuclear stockpile (only a few dozen warheads), purely because it is deliberately avoiding getting into the kind of arms race with the USA that destroyed the Soviet Union.
Any country threatned by the likes of the US and other colonial states like UK should defiently consider arming themselves with hundreds if not thousands of surface to air missles as a way to degrade enemies air power as a good general once told me!
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*Originally posted by ak47: *
^ hmmm surface to surface missles intresting.
feel sorry for Taiwan then if they try anything.
Any country threatned by the likes of the US and other colonial states like UK should defiently consider arming themselves with hundreds if not thousands of surface to air missles as a way to degrade enemies air power as a good general once told me!
Pakistan take note!
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It's not the numbers of Surface to Air missiles that matters - it's their quality. And China has enormous stocks of them, but most of them are old and easily rendered useless by modern jamming equipment.
Pakistan itself does not have the financial resources to either manufacture or buy the kind of military equipment you need to deal with the USA. In fact, it's questionable whether or not Pakistan has the money to buy what it needs to defend against even India. Pakistan counts on having enough to mean that an Indian victory would come at such a horrific cost to India as to not be worh trying for.
Although, having said that, Pakistan expects that the bulk of the Indian Air Force's ground attack mission will be flown at low altitude, and therefore air defence does consist of enormous numbers of man-portable surface to air missiles to take down aircraft at an altitude of approximate 2 km.
There were successfully used to bag a brace of Indian Migs in the Kargil war.
but beyond those, we have a smattering of Chinese copies of 1950 era SA-2 missiles for high-altitude defence, a couple of 1970s designed medium altitude air defence missiles, and some 1980s designed medium-low altitude missiles.
Not too impressive, but we can't afford to buy much more than that without neglecting even more of the armed forces.
The thing that most people will miss is that the Mainland and Tiawan are “equal enough” that the equipment largely would not matter. The quality of the battle plan, leadership, communications systems, and above all, luck, would play a big part in any conflict.
On the other hand, if you support Chechnya, then it is hard not to support Taiwan.
It's not the numbers of Surface to Air missiles that matters - it's their quality. And China has enormous stocks of them, but most of them are old and easily rendered useless by modern jamming equipment.
Pakistan itself does not have the financial resources to either manufacture or buy the kind of military equipment you need to deal with the USA. In fact, it's questionable whether or not Pakistan has the money to buy what it needs to defend against even India. Pakistan counts on having enough to mean that an Indian victory would come at such a horrific cost to India as to not be worh trying for.
Although, having said that, Pakistan expects that the bulk of the Indian Air Force's ground attack mission will be flown at low altitude, and therefore air defence does consist of enormous numbers of man-portable surface to air missiles to take down aircraft at an altitude of approximate 2 km.
There were successfully used to bag a brace of Indian Migs in the Kargil war.
but beyond those, we have a smattering of Chinese copies of 1950 era SA-2 missiles for high-altitude defence, a couple of 1970s designed medium altitude air defence missiles, and some 1980s designed medium-low altitude missiles.
Not too impressive, but we can't afford to buy much more than that without neglecting even more of the armed forces.
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Yes i agree quality is a key component. But never the less surface to air missles is the best course of action in case of an invasion especially with attacks from the air.
I doubt pakistan can reach level of producing top quality fighter planes in the near future because pakistan is still at the infancy stage of buliding fighter planes.
But on the Missle front i think they have the means and ability to expand this sector heavily in thier favour and also investment wise it would be cheaper than buliding fighter planes that costs how many tens of millions.
Yes i agree quality is a key component. But never the less surface to air missles is the best course of action in case of an invasion especially with attacks from the air.
I doubt pakistan can reach level of producing top quality fighter planes in the near future because pakistan is still at the infancy stage of buliding fighter planes.
But on the Missle front i think they have the means and ability to expand this sector heavily in thier favour and also investment wise it would be cheaper than buliding fighter planes that costs how many tens of millions.
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There are three problems.
1) Manufacturing or purchasing anti-aircraft missiles in large numbers of a sophisticated enough nature to be resistant to US jamming/interdiction ability is still beyond Pakistan's financial means.
2) Even if we could afford it, neglecting financial investment into our fighter planes and conventional land army in favour of anti-aircraft missiles would be dangerous, as that would leave us more vulnerable to India.
3) The USA could simply strike with cruise missiles - there is no technology in the world that can defend against cruise missile bombardment. Even the USA does not have the means to defend itself against cruise missiles - should, one day, a Chinese submarine launch a barrage of 24 cruise missiles against the Pentagon, there is nothing at all that the USA can do to prevent all 24 hitting the Pentagon.
Taking this a step further, the USA could simply launch cruise missiles to destroy the radars controlling our anti-aircraft missiles, and then operate in our airspace as leisure.
The only way to be sure of holding off the USA's military is the North Korea Way - having the means to hit back at the US homelands should they try and hit your homelands.
China can sink it or take it, and they have both options at their disposal. But Chinese are very smart, did they take HK! No they did not they are playing the same game with Taiwan. US can arm Taiwan to create trouble for China but then China has armed little Kim to the teeth to get back to yanks.... Its called ** Two can play this game ** something yanks ofen forget and then scream.
Bottom line: Taiwan is too close to a black hole to escape its gravity, too close for comfort.