Taiwan eyes long-range missiles to deter Chinese threat

New defense review warns of rising cross-strait tensions and 'gray zone' ops

20210325N Taiwan military

A fighter jet and cruise missiles at Taiwan's Makung Air Force Base. The island plans to modernize its military and bolster recruitment to its forces as tensions with mainland China rise. © Reuters

YU NAKAMURA, Nikkei staff writer

TAIPEI -- Taiwan aims to counter Chinese military pressure by building up its own forces with long-range missiles and stronger cyber defenses, according to its latest defense review.

Mainland China, "aspiring to become an international superpower, is eager to undermine the international order and regional stability," warns the newest edition of the Quadrennial Defense Review, which the Ministry of National Defense here submitted to the legislature Thursday. "It has been particularly imposing coercive means of verbal intimidation and saber-rattling, intrusion and provocation by aerial and maritime assets, cyberattacks, and cognitive warfare -- forcing us to succumb to their will."

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