Taiwan improves missiles to counter China military expansion

In this Aug. 10, 2011, file photo, Taiwan's indigenous Hsiung Feng III missile is propped against the backdrop of a billboard depicting a missile-riddled aircraft carrier, closely resembling China's carrier "Varyag," during a media preview of the Taipei Aerospace and Defense Technology show in Taipei, Taiwan. (AP)

In this Aug. 16, 2013, file photo, two visitors discuss a AIM-M9 Sidewinder missile in front of its display at the Taiwan Aerospace & Defense Technology Expo in Taipei, Taiwan. (AP)

In this Aug. 13, 2015, file photo, two men speak under the Taiwan-made "Tien-Kung III" surface to air missile during the 2015 Taipei Aerospace and Defense Technology Exhibition in Taipei, Taiwan. (AP)

In this photo Friday, April 13, 2018, file photo, released by Military News Agency, Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen, second from left, listens to a brief on a missile at Su'ao naval station during a navy exercise in the northeastern port of Su'ao in Yilan County, Taiwan. (AP)

TAIPEI, Taiwan: Defense experts say Taiwan is responding to China’s arms buildup by developing missiles and interceptors of its own that could reduce Beijing’s military advantage over the self-ruled island.
Since President Tsai Ing-wen took office in 2016, Taiwan has deployed one set of missiles, perfected another and sped production of a third. Chinese President Xi Jinping has taken a hard line against advocates of independence for the self-governed island democracy and has sent warships, bombers and fighter planes on training missions circling the island in a show of strength.
Alexander Huang, strategic studies professor at Tamkang University in Taiwan, says while Beijing has an increasingly overwhelming military advantage, Taiwan’s missile systems advance its odds of holding off China in asymmetrical warfare.