Taipei: Taiwan lacks effective and relatively cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making Taiwan's planned "T-Dome" interception system necessary, two experts said Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China's military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named "Justice Mission-2025."
According to Focus Taiwan, the first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9 a.m. from Pingtan in China's Fujian Province, as reported by Lt. Gen. Hsieh Jih-sheng of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles northeast of Keelung City without flying over Taiwan, Hsieh said at a news conference Tuesday evening. The second wave involved 10 rockets launched at 1 p.m. from Shishi in Fujian Province, which landed 50 nautical miles west of Tainan, Hsieh added.
Chieh Chung, an associate research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research (INDSR), noted that the PCH-191 rocket system used by China in the drills has a maximum range of 280 kilometers, capable of striking most of western Taiwan. Chieh emphasized that these rockets have "some precision characteristics" and can serve as a lower-cost option for large-volume joint firepower output compared with ballistic missiles and cruise missiles, but Taiwan currently lacks suitable interception systems for such rockets.
This lack of interception capability underscores the need for Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te's promotion of the "T-Dome" system to build interception systems capable of defending against rockets as a form of forward deployment. Lai announced that Taiwan would build the system during his public address on Oct. 10, Taiwan's National Day.
Lin Ying-yu, an associate professor at Tamkang University's Graduate Institute of International Affairs and Strategic Studies, highlighted the importance of the mobility of military equipment. He pointed out that many newer systems, including the HIMARS multiple rocket launcher system, the M109A7 howitzer, and new Air Force radar systems, are mobile but require reinforced or underground shelters to improve survivability.