Taiwan Deploys New Rocket System Fearing China Threat

Taiwan has deployed a powerful new multiple-launch rocket system on an offshore island to guard against any amphibious landing by China, according to local media reports. 

The weapon, called Ray Ting 2000 or "Thunder 2000", went into service for the first time on Matsu island and could reach China's Fujian province across the Taiwan Strait.

The system can launch 40 rockets in a minute with a range of 45 kilometres (28 miles), The United Evening News said.

"Thunder 2000" is expected to enhance the military's anti-landing capabilities as it phases out the current rocket system introduced three decades ago.

The longer range could destroy landing craft before they reach the shore, while the truck-mounted launchers could be combat-ready in eight minutes, less than half the time of the current system, experts said further.

Taiwan Defense Ministry reportedly plans to produce more than 50 such systems at a cost of $483 million. But no official statement has been made yet.

China and Taiwan split in 1949 after a civil war, with the defeated Nationalists retreating to the island, but their ties have improved markedly since 2008, when a Beijing-friendly government came to power in Taipei.