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China: US Playing With Fire
China ramped up the pressure on the United States not to sell advanced arms to Taiwan, with the Communist Party’s official newspaper warning that US congressmen are ‘playing with fire’ over the issue.
Taiwan’s ‘Carrier Killer’ Aims To Sink China’s Carrier
TAIPEI – In the event of war, Taiwan plans to sink China’s new aircraft carrier, the Varyag, with its new “aircraft carrier killer” missile, the ramjet-powered supersonic anti-ship cruise missile Hsiung Feng 3. The revelation was made Aug. 10 on the same day China launched the Varyag for its first sea trials.
The disclosure came during a preshow media tour of the biennial Taipei Aerospace and Defense Technology Exhibition (TADTE). Journalists inspecting the Hsiung Feng 3 were shocked to see a large mural of the Varyag being attacked by three Hsiung Feng 3 missiles. Two of the missiles impact the carrier’s starboard bow and starboard quarter, with a third missile is en route to the ship.
The mural was reminiscent of similar displays at the Read more…
Taiwan says China’s military advantage is growing
TAIPEI, Taiwan — China’s military advantage over Taiwan is increasing amid Beijing’s attempts to block foreign forces from intervening in a possible conflict, the island’s defense ministry said Tuesday.
The military balance between Taiwan and China has become a sensitive issue in the United States, which remains Taiwan’s major security partner despite shifting its recognition from Taipei to Beijing 32 years ago.
Bipartisan critics in Congress have accused President Barack Obama’s administration of neglecting Taiwan’s defense needs by refusing to sell it 66 relatively advanced F-16 jet fighters. They also say the administration is deliberately holding up the publication of a classified Pentagon report believed to Read more…
US to upgrade F-16s, KMT lawmaker says
The US is expected to announce soon that it will help Taiwan upgrade its current F-16 aircraft rather than sell it more advanced aircraft, a senior legislator said yesterday.
The move to upgrade the F-16A/B combat aircraft rather than sell Taiwan the more advanced F-16C/Ds it wants will generate less pressure from Beijing, which strongly opposes any arms sales to Taiwan, analysts say.
“This will be a compromise deal,” said Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lin Yu-fang (林郁方), who chairs the legislature’s Foreign and National Defense Committee.
Taiwan has repeatedly pressed the US to sell it F-16C/Ds, as China embarks on a rapid drive to build up its offensive military capability.
However, it is feared that such a sale would “anger” Beijing, which reacted furiously in January last year when US President Barack Obama announced a US$6.4 billion arms package for Taiwan.
That package included Patriot missiles, Black Hawk helicopters and equipment for Read more…
China Seen Deploying New Ballistic Missile Unit Close to Taiwan
Here is another article of interest published in April.
Taiwan’s intelligence head on Thursday asserted China had fielded an additional ballistic missile unit not far from the self-governing island, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, April 6).
“The unit, carrying the code number 96166 and based in Guangdong province [in southern China], is indeed a new unit, probably a new ballistic missile brigade,” National Security Bureau chief Tsai Teh-sheng said, without offering further specifics.
“Over the past few years, the People’s Liberation Army has kept increasing its deployment of ballistic missile units in both quantity and quality opposite Taiwan,” Tsai said in remarks passed along by lawmaker Lin Yu-fang.
Taiwanese analysts project that Beijing at present has in excess of 1,600 missiles targeting the island that it claims as Chinese territory. The majority of those weapons are thought to be fielded in Jiangxi and Fuijan provinces in the southeastern part of the country. Experts predict that as many as 1,800 missiles could be aimed at Taiwan in 2012, AFP reported.
China’s robust rail system has allowed it to rapidly transport missiles to coastal regions when required. Some missiles can even be fired from railway trains, according to Lin, who is also a military affairs professor.
China’s top military official last week seemingly denied that any missiles were aimed at Taiwan. Beijing, though, has said it could take military action should Taipei seek full autonomy (see GSN, May 19; Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, May 26).
Cables show China used debt holdings to press US
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| © AFP/File |
WASHINGTON (AFP) – Leaked diplomatic cables vividly show China’s willingness to translate its massive holdings of US debt into political influence on issues ranging from Taiwan’s sovereignty to Washington’s financial policy.
China’s clout — gleaned from its nearly $900 billion stack of US debt — has been widely commented on in the United States, but sensitive cables show just how much influence Beijing has and how keen Washington is to address its rival’s concerns.
An October 2008 cable, released by WikiLeaks, showed a senior Chinese official linking questions about much-needed Chinese investment to sensitive Read more…
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