Taiwan's Very Public Missile Test Fizzles

A surface-to-air missile is test fired from Jiupeng military base in Pingtung County, Taiwan Tuesday, January 18, 2011

(JIUPENG, Taiwan) — President Ma Ying-jeou presided Tuesday over the unusually public test firing of 19 surface-to-air and air-to-air missiles, but about a quarter missed their targets, earning his dismay and raising new questions about Taiwan's readiness to defend itself against Chinese attack.

The exercise followed last week's successful test flight of China's next generation J-20 stealth aircraft, a system expected to further widen its growing edge over Taiwan's own equipment-starved air force.

Ma's presence at the base in southern Taiwan where the missile test was conducted was meant to underscore his commitment to the maintenance of an effective Taiwanese deterrent, but the poor performance clearly disappointed him.

"I'm not satisfied with the results," he told reporters when the test was concluded. "I hope the military will find out the reasons and improve its training."

The missile test was the first to be held in full view of the press for almost a decade. It was meant, Ma said, "to bring more transparency into military affairs and allow the public to view the military's readiness."

But under a cloud-speckled winter sky, five of the missiles failed to hit their targets, including one RIM-7M Sparrow, which cascaded harmlessly into the South China Sea less than 30 seconds after launch. Other missiles tested included Sky Bow IIs [EM] which have a range of 125 miles (200 kilometers) [EM] MIM-23 Hawks and FIM-92 Stingers.

Following China's well-publicized test of the J-20 last week, the normally pro-government United Daily News questioned Ma's policy of shifting the military's main mission away from national defense and toward disaster relief, commenting that "the more important mission for the military is to defend (Taiwan) against threats."

The shift in military priorities, unveiled in the immediate wake of a devastating typhoon in August 2009, reflects Ma's belief that his continuing efforts to lower tensions with China [EM] the main theme of his 2 1/2-year-old administration [EM] make war across the 100-mile- (160-kilometer-)wide Taiwan Strait less likely than ever before.

The two sides split amid civil war in 1949, and since then Beijing has reserved the right to invade the democratic island of 23 million people if it moves to make its de facto independence permanent [EM] something Ma opposes.

Defense expert Wang Kao-cheng of Taipei's Tamkang University said one purpose of Tuesday's missile test may have been to encourage the United States to sell Taiwan the 66 relatively advanced F-16 jet fighters that top its military wish list.

Washington says it is considering the request, but bitter Chinese opposition to the deal has delayed its implementation for more than two years.

"The Taiwan government may be using this exercise to send a message to the U.S. that its air defense is facing mounting pressure as China continues to develop the new generation of fighter jets," Wang said.

Taiwanese military commentators say the main function of the missiles tested Tuesday is to deter Chinese aircraft from entering the island's self-proclaimed defense zone on the eastern side of the north-south median line dividing the Taiwan Strait.

In that sense they are an adjunct to the island's aging air force, which American analysts say is becoming increasingly ill prepared to meet the challenges of China's continuing military buildup.

By: AP/Johnson Lai (time magazine)