Taiwan already has medium-range guided missile, new book reveals

TAIPEI (AFP) - Taiwan has developed its first medium-range guided missile that could be used against former rival China, according to a former defence minister in a new book cited by a media report on Saturday.

Mr Michael Tsai, a politician turned defence minister in the former government of the China-sceptic Democratic Progressive Party, revealed in his book due to be published on Sunday that the military successfully developed the missile back in 2008, the Liberty Times said.

In response to the report, the country's defence ministry rounded on Mr Tsai, telling AFP that disclosure of the information "may endanger national security". The Times said Mr Tsai knowingly used the term "medium-range guided missile" in his book - entitled God Bless Taiwan - in contrast to the cruise missiles already in the island's arsenal.

Taiwan in 2010 confirmed it was mass-producing Hsiungfeng 2E cruise missiles, the island's answer to the US-made Tomahawk, despite fast warming ties with China. The cruise missiles could be launched from land or sea, and would be capable of hitting airports and missile bases in south-east China, as well as cities such as Shanghai and Hong Kong. Mr Tsai did not give specifications for the medium-range weapon described in his book.