China deploys missiles in preparation for war against Taiwan [Video]

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• According to reports, China has deployed its most advanced hypersonic missile in Fujian and Zhejiang provinces located near Taiwan as they prepare for an invasion.
• The DF-17 hypersonic missile, a solid-fueled road-mobile medium-range ballistic missile, was part of Chinese military beef-up placed along the southeast coast.
• Beijing also deployed the S-400 Triumf air-system defense which could take down Taiwan’s military aircraft.

As it prepares for a future invasion of Taiwan, reports said that China has deployed new hypersonic missiles across the Chinese Taipei.

Citing an anonymous military source, the South China Morning Post reported on Sunday that the DF-17, Beijing’s most advanced hypersonic missile, is being deployed at the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) bases in Fujian and Zhejiang provinces located right across Taiwan.

The missile deployment was part of PLA’s strategy of boosting its military forces along the Chinese coast as experts believed that Beijing is preparing for an invasion.

The DF-17 hypersonic missile, according to the unnamed source, “will gradually replace the old DF-11s and DF-15s that were deployed in the southeast region for decades,” adding that the new missile “has a longer range and is able to hit targets more accurately.”

The newly-deployed weapon has a “solid-fueled road-mobile medium-range ballistic missile” which is being carried by a hypersonic glide vehicle with over 2,500-kilometer range. If it were to match against Taiwan’s Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3), the DF-17 would be hard to intercept because of its ability for a swift change of direction.

According to Andrei Chang, editor-in-chief of Kanwa Defense Review, the deployments were included in the expansion measures by the Marine Corps and Rocket Force bases in the said provinces.

“Every rocket force brigade in Fujian and Guangdong is now fully equipped,” he said, noting that this becomes proof of China’s impending takeover.

“The size of some of the missile bases in the Eastern and Southern theatre commands have even doubled in recent years, showing the PLA is stepping up preparations for a war targeting Taiwan.”

Aside from the missile preparation, the Chinese Communist Party also deployed the S-400 Triumf air-defense system in southeast China bases, Chang said, claiming that such defensive weapon could cover “the whole of Taiwan.” He also boasted that the Russian-developed system has the ability “to shoot Taiwanese military aircraft once they take off.”

The PLA Air Force has now 20 air force brigades placed along its coast, the report said. The People’s Liberation Army Navy-Marine Corps, meanwhile, currently has 10 to 13 brigades following Chinese President Xi Jinping’s announcement last week to “prepare for war.”

Based on the Liberty Times report, Democratic Progressive Party legislator Wang Ting-yu on Sunday commented on the South China Morning Post article, saying that the missiles were deployed to prevent other countries like the US and Japan from interfering.

Wang argued that Beijing’s continuous beef up of its military forces in the Indo-Pacific, solidifies its role as “troublemaker” and therefore, more alliances like the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue are needed.

Source: Taiwan News