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Thursday January 19, 6:27 PMTaiwan military shows satellite images of Chinese military buildup(Kyodo) _ In an unusual move, Taiwan's military disclosed on Thursday classified satellite images purporting to show an expansion of the Chinese military, including a buildup of nuclear-powered submarinesIn showing the photos, the National Defense Ministry renewed its call for a massive arms procurement project, saying Taiwan must boost its self-defense capabilities so as to effectively deter China's ambitions. "We hope the legislature can debate the issue in a rational way and then pass the bill for the special budget to purchase advanced weapons," Defense Minister Lee Jye said at a press conference. The bill was blocked by the opposition at the legislature's Procedure Committee for the 44th time this month, although the military has proposed cutting the budget used to buy U.S.-made submarines, P-3C antisubmarine aircraft and PAC-III antimissile systems. Among dozens of photos classified as confidential, one taken late last year showed that China has launched new nuclear attack submarines that can be armed with Julang-2 ballistic missiles, which have a range of up to 8,000 kilometers. Another photo of Dalian military port in northeastern Liaoning Province indicated that the Chinese navy is rebuilding Varyag, an aircraft carrier purchased from the Ukraine. "China's target is not only Taiwan, but other superpowers in the world as well," a military officer warned. The display also included other photos showing how China is strengthening its military might to prepare for a possible war in the Taiwan Strait by renovating deserted airports in southeastern Fujian Province opposite Taiwan and deploying jet fighters there. The military declined to comment on the source of the photos, and journalists invited to view them were prohibited from taking pictures. China claims sovereignty over Taiwan and has threatened to attack if the self-governing island declares formal independence. The U.S. Defense Department has warned that the military balance across the Taiwan Strait will soon tip in favor of China, as the country is pushing forward with military modernization based on strong economic growth. A July 2005 report released by the U.S. military estimated that China has so far deployed about 650 to 730 short-range, conventionally armed ballistic missiles in the direction of Taiwan. |
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