Taiwan to boost anti-ship missile arsenal to over 1,800 by 2029 amid China threat

TAIPEI, 4 June: Taiwan plans to expand its arsenal of anti-ship missiles to more than 1,800 by early 2029 as it seeks to strengthen its ability to deter or counter a potential Chinese blockade or invasion, according to a Reuters analysis based on defence data and official documents.

The planned buildup forms part of Taiwan's broader shift towards an asymmetric defence strategy, under which the island aims to offset China's overwhelming military advantage through large numbers of relatively low-cost but highly effective weapons.

The arsenal will comprise a mix of US-made Harpoon anti-ship missiles and Taiwan's indigenous Hsiung Feng missile systems, deployed across aircraft, naval vessels and ground-based launch platforms.

Taiwanese military planners believe such capabilities would improve the island's chances of surviving an initial Chinese missile and air assault and retaining the ability to strike invading forces or naval units enforcing a blockade.

The strategy also includes expanding stocks of shorter-range missiles and unmanned aerial and maritime systems.

Creating a 'kill zone'

Defence analysts say the growing missile inventory is intended to create a heavily defended "kill zone" across the Taiwan Strait, through which any Chinese invasion force would have to pass.

"Our goal is to stop them from landing and completing their mission, not to destroy every PLA ship," Ou Si-fu, deputy chief executive officer for research at Taiwan's Institute for National Defense and Security Research, told Reuters.

Grant Newsham, a retired US Marine Corps colonel and researcher at the Japan Forum for Strategic Studies, said long-range precision missiles could pose a significant challenge to Chinese military planners.

"Employed properly and with adequate numbers, these missiles are a huge problem for a Chinese invasion force," he said.

Military experts have long argued that any Chinese invasion of Taiwan would require a large amphibious force comprising warships and civilian transport vessels crossing the Taiwan Strait.

China operates the world's largest navy by number of vessels and also possesses a vast merchant fleet that could potentially support military operations.

Additional defence spending approved

Taiwan's missile expansion is expected to accelerate after the island's opposition-controlled legislature approved an additional USD 25 billion defence package last month to procure US-made munitions.

The funding is expected to support the acquisition of precision-guided weapons capable of targeting Chinese naval assets in the Taiwan Strait and military infrastructure along China's coastline.

The Taiwan Ministry of National Defense said anti-ship missiles play a key role in degrading an adversary's maritime combat capability.

"Anti-ship missiles can establish a powerful maritime strike capability and degrade the enemy's combat effectiveness," the ministry said in a statement, while declining to provide details of deployment plans on security grounds.

The missile buildup comes amid growing military tensions across the Taiwan Strait, where Beijing continues to increase military pressure on the self-governing island that China claims as its territory.