Taiwan Says China Deploys DF-16 Ballistic Missile

Taiwan National Security Bureau Director-General, Tsai Der-sheng, announced on 16 March that China has begun deploying a new pattern of ballistic missiles against Taiwan.

The announcement came during a question-and-answer session following a presentation on the country's intelligence affairs and his bureau's operations before the Foreign and National Defense Committee of the Legislative Yuan.

The designation he quoted for the missile was Dong Feng 16 (DF-16) and described this as "a new addition to the People's Liberation Army [PLA]arsenal." He said that it posed a greater threat to Taiwan "given its extended range and more powerful payload." Some DF-16 missiles were being deployed to replace older systems, he said, but others were being added to the number of ballistic missiles arrayed against Taiwan.

Tsai gave few details of the DF-16, whose existence had not previously been reported. He confirmed that this was a new missile and not an upgraded model of the earlier DF-15 (CSS-6). According to reports in the local press, he said that the DF-16 has a range of between 800 km and 1,000 km but declined to say whether it used multiple-warhead technology.

Taiwan: Major US Arms Sales Since 1990

This report discusses U.S. security assistance to Taiwan, or Republic of China (ROC), including policy issues for Congress and legislation. Congress has oversight of the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA), P.L. 96-8, which has governed arms sales to Taiwan since 1979, when the United States recognized the People’s Republic of China (PRC) instead of the ROC.

Two other relevant parts of the “one China” policy are the August 17, 1982, U.S.-PRC Joint Communique and the “Six Assurances” to Taiwan. U.S. arms sales to Taiwan have been significant. The United States also expanded military ties with Taiwan after the PRC’s missile firings in 1995-1996. However, the U.S.-ROC Mutual Defense Treaty terminated in 1979.

Taiwan leader says US jets critical

Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou on Thursday renewed his call for the United States to sell fighter jets to the island, arguing its survival was at stake despite his outreach to China.

Taiwan "is a sovereign state; we must have our national defense," Ma, who often plays down suggestions of the island's separate identity, said in an interview with The Washington Post.

"While we negotiate with the mainland, we hope to carry out such talks with sufficient self-defense capabilities and not negotiate out of fear," Ma said.

Taiwan calls for US fighter jets

A top Taiwanese official has renewed calls for Washington to sell the island advanced aircraft in the wake of China's s development of its first stealth plane, a report said Wednesday.

Parliamentary speaker Wang Jin-pyng warned that China could upset regional and global order by developing the J-20 jet, the state Central News Agency said.

He urged Washington to provide Taiwan with advanced fighter jets to counter a serious imbalance between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait due to China's rapid military expansion, the report said.