A new Pentagon leak warns of the weakness of Taiwan’s air defenses against China

15 Apr. (EUROPE PRESS) –

A new leak of secret documents from the United States Department of Defense reflects concerns about Taiwan’s anti-aircraft capabilities in the face of a possible Chinese military attack, mainly with regard to missile detection and military aircraft.

According to the report, collected by ‘The Washington Post’, barely half of Taiwanese combat aircraft are ready to operate in a context of conflict, so China would have many more options to impose air superiority than previously believed.

In addition, the US analysis shows that the Taiwanese authorities themselves doubt their ability to “precisely detect missile launches.”

In fact, the current Taiwanese doctrine of firing two anti-aircraft missiles per target “would be compromised in the event of a high volume of fire” from Chinese short-range ballistic missiles launched from multiple mobile platforms. In fact, the Taiwanese military trains to fire at a single static target.

As for the Chinese tactic of using civilian ships for military purposes, the report acknowledges that it has impaired the ability of US intelligence agencies to detect a possible invasion. The document also recognizes the modernization of the Chinese Army, its improvements in coordination.

Taiwan’s Defense Ministry has said it respects outside opinions, but says its systems have been “carefully built on the basis of hostile threats.”

Taipei has thus stressed that the response to recent maneuvers in which China simulated a blockade and missile attack against the island show that they are “fully capable, determined and confident.”