A new leak of secret U.S. Department of Defense documents raises concerns about Taiwan’s anti-aircraft capabilities in the face of a possible Chinese military attack, mainly regarding missile detection and military aircraft.
According to the report, picked up by ‘The Washington Post’, barely half of Taiwanese fighter jets are ready to operate in a conflict context, so China would have much more options to impose air superiority than previously thought.
In addition, the US analysis states that Taiwanese authorities themselves doubt their ability to »accurately detect missile launches».
In fact, the current Taiwanese doctrine of firing two anti-aircraft missiles per target »would be compromised in the event of a large volume of firings» of Chinese short-range ballistic missiles launched from multiple mobile platforms. In fact, the Taiwanese military trains to fire at a single static target.
As for China’s tactic of employing civilian ships for military purposes, the report acknowledges that it has impaired the ability of U.S. intelligence agencies to detect a possible invasion. The document also recognizes the modernization of the Chinese Army and its improvements in coordination.
Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense has stated that it respects outside opinions, but assures that its systems have been »carefully built on the basis of hostile threats».
Taipei has thus stressed that the response to the recent maneuvers in which China simulated a blockade and missile attack against the island shows that they are »fully capable, determined and confident».
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
