Before an audience that included President Ma Ying-jeou,
five out of 19 missiles failed to hit their targets at
the Chiupeng military base in the island's south. A sixth
found its target, but did not explode.
"It's within our predictions, but of course there's
room for improvement," said air force Lieutenant
General Pan Kung-hsiao, when asked to comment about the
missiles that went astray.
Ma, however, was less forgiving, telling journalists that
the military should get to the bottom of the failures.
"I'm not very satisfied," Ma said. "Some
missiles missed the targets, and we need to review whether
these errors were mechanical or human. We also need to
hold more drills to boost military capabilities."
It was meant to signal Taiwan's defence capabilities to
the island's own public just days after China unveiled
the J-20, an aircraft that uses stealth technology to
avoid radar detection, according to analysts.
"Taiwan wants to reassure its people at a time when
China keeps developing advanced weapons such as the J-20,"
said Edward Chen, a political scientist at Tamkang University's
Graduate Institute of American Studies.
China and Taiwan have been governed separately since
the end of a civil war in 1949, but Beijing considers
the island part of its territory, and has never renounced
the possible use of force to get it back.
