TAIPEI: China is aiming advanced medium-range ballistic missiles at Taiwan as part of a growing military threat towards the island, Taipei’s defense minister said Monday. Taiwan has said China is targeting the island with around 1,500 missiles—this is the first time the defense ministry identified the DF-16 as among them. When asked by lawmakers how Taiwan would handle the new threat, Feng said the island’s Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) anti-missile system could intercept the DF-16. Taiwan pledged to build up its military in the face of the China threat in a four-yearly defense report unveiled last week. The island’s military, which consists of around 200,000 troops, is a fraction of China’s 2.3 million-strong army.

Source: Manila Times March 20, 2017 10:30 UTC