Taiwan's military has test fired 19 surface-to-air and air-to-air missiles, but a quarter of them missed their targets, raising questions about Taiwan's readiness to defend itself against a possible Chinese attack.
The exercise followed last week's successful test flight of China's next generation J-20 stealth aircraft, a system expected to further widen its growing edge over Taiwan's own equipment-starved air force.
Ma Ying-jeou, the president, visited the base in the country's south on Tuesday, to demonstrate his commitment to the maintenance of an effective Taiwanese deterrent, but the poor performance disappointed him.
"I'm not satisfied with the results," he told reporters when the test was concluded.
"I hope the military will find out the reasons and improve its training."
The missile test was the first to be held in full view of the press for almost a decade.
According to Ma, it was meant "to bring more transparency into military affairs and allow the public to view the military's readiness".
But five of the missiles failed to hit their targets, including one RIM-7M Sparrow, which cascaded into the South China Sea less than 30 seconds after launch.
Other missiles tested included the Sky Bow II, which have a range of 200km, MIM-23 Hawks and FIM-92 Stingers.
Read Full Story
No comments:
Post a Comment