The military of China has reportedly strengthened the coastal forces as it is getting ready for a probable invasion of Taiwan. Military observers stated that Beijing is stepping up the militarization of the southeast coast, upgrading the missile bases and deploying the most advanced hypersonic missiles to the areas, as per reports.
"The DF-17 hypersonic missile will gradually replace the old DF-11s and DF-15s that were deployed in the southeast region for decades. The new missile has a longer range and is able to hit targets more accurately," a source told the South China Morning Post.
China to Attack Taiwan?
The DF-17 missile that has a maximum range of 2,500 km made the first public appearance on the last year's October 1 National Day for marking the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. China holds Taiwan as a breakaway province that has taken a vow to take back and has also pledged to do it by force if it is required. The relations between Beijing and the capital of Taiwan Taipei have deteriorated after Tsai Ing Wn from the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party (DOO) got elected as the president and he did not agree to accept the one-China principle.
The policy states that there is only one sovereign state under the name of the East Asian country. The satellite images show that both the Marine Corps and the Rocket Forces bases located in Fujian and Guandong provinces have got expanded in recent years, as per Andrei Chang, who is the editor-in-chief of Kanwa Defence Review, as reported by the Daily Star.
"Every rocket force brigade in Fujian and Guangdong is now fully equipped. The size of some of the missile bases in the eastern and southern theatre commands have even doubled in recent years, showing they are stepping up preparations for a war targeting Taiwan," he said. One base in the city of Puning of the Guandong province had got upgraded and now housed the latest type of ballistic missile. The deployment of the missiles at the coasts of the Zhejiang and Fujian provinces earlier peaked during the presidency of Tsai's DDP. The US has issued a warning to Taiwan to get ready against a probable Chinese invasion.
