Maintaining the triad U.S. bomber force needs a new nuclear cruise missile BY ELBRIDGE COLBY AND THOMAS MOORE

Maintaining the triad

U.S. bomber force needs a new nuclear cruise missile

BY ELBRIDGE COLBY AND THOMAS MOORE

Taiwan trumpets cruise missile production

Taiwan, China to hold fresh round of talks next weekTaipei (AFP) Dec 14, 2010 - Taiwan and China agreed on Tuesday to hold a fresh round of negotiations next week focusing on medical and health cooperation, officials said. Top Taiwanese envoy Kao Koong-lian arranged the talks with Chinese counterpart Zheng Lizhong in Shanghai, said Taiwan's Straits Exchange Foundation which handles civil exchanges with the mainland in the absence of official contacts. China's chief negotiator Chen Yunlin is scheduled to fly to Taipei on Monday and hold talks with his Taiwanese counterpart Chiang Pin-kung the following day, it said. At the centre of the talks -- the sixth round since June 2008 -- will be epidemic control measures and research and development of medicines, herbal medicines and emergency cures. Chen will also meet Lai Shin-yuan, the chairman of the island's major China policy decision-making body, the Mainland Affairs Council. But a much-anticipated deal to protect both sides' cross-Strait investments will not be signed due to a lack of consensus "as the agreement involves complicated problems, and more discussions will be needed before it can be signed", the Foundation said. Taiwanese businesses are among the biggest overseas players in mainland China, with at least 80 billion dollars invested, and there has been some clamour for a deal to be struck. Taipei and Beijing forged a comprehensive trade pact in June, known as the "Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement" (ECFA), that marked the culmination of the China-friendly policies of Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou. Ties have improved markedly since Ma took office in 2008, with the two sides resuming routine high-level direct talks and adopting various measures to boost trade and tourism.

http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Taiwan_trumpets_cruise_missile_production_999.html Taipei, Taiwan (UPI) Dec 14, 2010 Taiwan has admitted that it is mass producing long-range cruise missiles capable of reaching mainland China. The announcement, made by Chao Shih-chang, Taiwans' deputy defense minister, confirms years of speculation by military analysts that the island was developing the Hsiung Feng 2E land attack cruise missile and the Hsiung Feng 3 anti-ship cruise missile.
The announcement also signals lingering military tension between Taiwan and China despite a thawing in political and economic ties in recent years.
Military analysts suggest the announcement marked a major break in Taiwan's long-standing strategy of preparing to thwart possible Chinese military attacks across the Taiwan Straits, developing, instead, a retaliatory capability as far-reaching as mainland China.
China and Taiwan split at the end of a civil war in 1949. Beijing, however, considers Taiwan a breakaway province that must be brought back into the fold. It has used a number of means, diplomatic and military, to deter other nations from officially recognizing Taiwan as an independent state.
Even so, relations between both sides have increasingly thawed, allowing Taiwan to pursue trade deals with other countries that have long been reluctant to antagonize Beijing.
Speaking to legislators, Chao said that "mass production" was "going smoothly." He refused to elaborate.
A senior official quoted by the Defense News Web site said that "a few [missiles] have been fielded and could be fielded in a case of war."
China continues to retain more than 1,000 ballistic missiles pointed at Taiwan and while Beijing traditionally accuses Washington of aiding Taipei, it hasn't issued a response to Taiwan's cruise missile production.

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Taiwan confirms mass producing cruise missiles

http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Taiwan_confirms_mass_producing_cruise_missiles_999.html Taipei (AFP) Dec 9, 2010 Taiwan has confirmed for the first time that it is mass-producing cruise missiles, despite fast warming ties with China. "Mass production of indigenous weapons like the ones under the code names of 'Chichun' (Lance Hawk) and 'Chuifeng' (Chasing Wind) is very smooth," Deputy Defence Minister Chao Shih-chang told parliament Wednesday.
"The problems with key parts and components that had previously stalled the manufacturing have been tackled," he said in reply to queries raised by legislator Lin Yu-fang.
The Chichun project refers to the Hsiungfeng 2E cruise missile, Taiwan's answer to the US-made Tomahawk. Chuifeng is a project to develop the island's long-anticipated supersonic anti-ship missile.
Chao declined to specify the range of the missiles or the number to be put into service.
"Surely the cruise missiles will be able to boost Taiwan's self-defence capabilities," Alexdander Huang, a professor of Tamkang University in Taipei, told AFP.
"But that's it. Taiwan is unlikely to use such weapons to take the first strike against the targets on the mainland."
The cruise missiles could be launched from land or sea, and would be capable of hitting airports and missile bases in southeast China, as well as cities such as Shanghai and Hong Kong, local media said.
Taiwanese experts estimate China's People's Liberation Army currently has more than 1,600 missiles aimed at the island.
Tensions across the Taiwan Strait have eased since Ma Ying-jeou of the China-friendly Kuomintang came to power in 2008 on a platform of beefing up trade links and allowing in more Chinese tourists.
However, China still refuses to renounce the possible use of force against the island in its long-stated goal of re-taking Taiwan, which has ruled itself since the end of a civil war in 1949.
The Pentagon said in an annual report

to Congress earlier this year that China's military build-up against Taiwan has "continued unabated" despite improving political relations.

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Taiwan missile defence shield ready next year: report

Image via WikipediaTaiwan missile defence shield ready next year: report
Taipei (AFP) Sept 6, 2010 - Taiwan expects a much-anticipated missile defence shield to be ready next year after buying advanced weapons at a cost of about 300 billion Taiwan dollars (9.4 billion US), local media reported Monday. Six batteries of Patriot III missiles forming the backbone of the system will account for roughly half the costs associated with the project, the China Times newspaper said. A long-range e ... more