TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — China is turning its eastern seaboard into a launchpad for missiles aimed at Taiwan and US forces in Asia, The New York Times reported Monday.
The expansion is central to Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s ambition to bring Taiwan under Beijing’s control while deterring US intervention. The Pentagon estimates China’s Rocket Force now holds about 3,500 missiles, nearly 50% more than four years ago.
Many of these weapons are concentrated near Taiwan, where satellite images show new bases, larger facilities, and expanded launch sites. The arsenal includes advanced systems such as the hypersonic Dongfeng-17 and the Dongfeng-26, known as the “Guam Express” for its ability to hit US bases in the Pacific.
Chinese units are also training in unconventional areas. Soldiers have practiced firing from valleys and farmland, simulating rapid launches close to Taiwan’s shores.
“Missiles are really the starting point for any type of military coercion campaign that China would use against Taiwan,” said Jennifer Kavanagh, a senior fellow at Defense Priorities in Washington. She added that their sheer numbers are a political signal to Taipei and Washington: resistance is futile.
In wartime, China would rely on its missiles to overwhelm Taiwan’s defenses and cripple US bases in Guam and Japan. In peacetime, Beijing uses missile tests and parades to intimidate Taiwan and project strength to the region.
The most recent display came in Beijing in September, when the People’s Liberation Army unveiled new anti-ship missiles with hypersonic capability. The parade also showcased intercontinental nuclear missiles, underscoring the Rocket Force’s central role in China’s military power.
“The Rocket Force is the crown jewel of the Chinese military,” said Thomas Shugart, a former US naval officer now at the Center for a New American Security. “It increases, by a huge degree, the range at which China can reach out suddenly with very little warning.”
Xi has reinforced his authority despite corruption scandals within the Rocket Force. Last year he visited Brigade 611 in Anhui Province, watching troops simulate mobile missile launches and urging them to adopt a “combat mind-set.”
Satellite images show Brigade 611’s base has nearly doubled in size, with new launchpads and what analysts describe as training complexes. Experts say the unusually dense cluster of launch sites suggests a focus on rapid and realistic drills.
Brigade 616 in Jiangxi Province has also expanded quickly, even during the pandemic. Analysts say it is being prepared to house the Dongfeng-17, which travels at five times the speed of sound and can maneuver to evade defenses.
The Pentagon estimates China has about 500 Dongfeng-26 missiles, many now deployed in Anhui. These road-mobile weapons can carry conventional or nuclear warheads, raising risks of escalation if the US cannot determine their payloads in real time.
That ambiguity is part of the danger, said Kelly Grieco of the Stimson Center, who warned in a recent study that US bases in Asia could be devastated by Chinese missile strikes. “A system like the Dongfeng-26 makes this potentially even more dangerous,” she said.
In a potential Taiwan conflict, Chinese commanders would scatter mobile units across caves, coastlines, and forests to evade detection. They could fire salvos at Taiwan or US ships and then quickly relocate to hidden positions.
During drills in 2022, following Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taipei, Chinese forces launched rockets from areas just across the strait. Analysts say the exercises demonstrated Beijing’s ability to strike Taiwan directly from its closest coastal sites.
China has even built ship-shaped targets in its western deserts to practice attacks on US carriers. Some mock warships are mounted on rails to simulate movement, suggesting Beijing is preparing for realistic scenarios of naval conflict.
Analysts warn that US air bases in Asia lack hardened shelters and remain vulnerable to a saturation missile strike. “I have a hard time imagining them not getting overwhelmed with the kind of numbers that we see,” said Shugart.
Still, doubts remain about how these weapons would perform in real combat. Some experts say hitting moving ships under wartime conditions is far harder than Beijing’s controlled tests suggest.
