Beijing ordered launching Chinese Dongfeng ballistic missiles over Taiwan, which flew over its vaunted Patriot missile defense quickly without an interception.
The objective of the missile launch was to show how the People's Liberation Army Rocket Force could bombard the island, but the modern Patriot's inability to hit even a single one was a concern for some as the US advertises it as a capable system.
PLA Flaunts Its Ballistic Weapons
The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) fired 11 Chinese ballistic missiles on August 4 into the coastal waters of the island's northern, southern, and eastern regions, reported EurAsian Times.
According to information from the Japanese Defense Ministry, four of these PLA rockets went over Taipei, and five of these ICBM missiles struck Japan's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), noted Japan Times.
According to Taiwan's Ministry of Defense, the instability of the Indo-Pacific peace is a result of the People's Liberation Army's saber-rattling. The defense systems on the island were put on high alert, but the outcomes speak for themselves.
One question is whether the incident started an online debate on how the Taiwanese military activated the Patriot batteries to intercept the trajectory of the Chinese Dongfeng ballistic missile.
Missiles Shoot Over Taiwan Strait
The Patriot air defense system will fight in a cross-strait conflict as the only line of protection against Chinese missiles, per Army Technology.
Wang Li explained why Taipei did not try to shoot down these enemy ICBMs. He said that space begins at the Karman line, which is 100 km above the planet. When in position, these missiles are set to dive towards their target.
The Taiwan defense ministry said on August 4 that the Chinese ICBMs flew into space. Even flying over the island, it was not in the protected airspace. The question is whether the enclave's military can stop missiles at it.
One argument is that the Patriot III anti-ballistic missile defense system is not designed to defend against missiles diving from space but for lower altitude range interception.
One US-guided projectile costs NT$50 million, compared to NT$20 million for its Chinese adversary-two PLA rockets fire at one US missile.
Wang Li added that Beijing allows a chance to learn more about how their weapons behave for analysis. It speaks volumes of information to glean.
The boost phase of the Dongfeng occurs outside Taiwan, so it's far, but the midcourse stage is miles over the island, which Patriot defenses cannot hit.
Its terminal stage occurs far from the island's coast, which is too far from missile batteries. The Patriot will get a lock on if the missile nose cone is directed at the enclave.
Only when an attacking missile is close to the last position to strike, the nearest point that the American battery can only hit. Reservations if the counterfire hits these Chinese ICBMs.
