China's military parade could hurt optics: Military spokesman

Taipei, Sept. 17 (CNA) China's muscle flexing at a recent military parade did not help to create a positive image, a Taiwan military spokesperson said Wednesday.

"We do not think that holding a grand display of military equipment to intimidate neighboring countries is a good way to build a positive image," said Sun Li-fang (孫立方), head of the Ministry of National Defense's Administration Office, at a press event to highlight some of the military's weapons systems to be displayed at the Taipei Aerospace & Defense Technology Exhibition.

Sun was replying to a reporter's question about whether the Chiang Kong air defense missile, one of the exhibition's highlights, capable of reaching an altitude of 70 kilometers, could be used to intercept Chinese intercontinental ballistic missiles featured at the military parade earlier this month at Tiananmen Square in Beijing to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.

The ministry attaches a high level of importance to the military equipment unveiled at the parade and has conducted in-depth research into its capabilities and the threats they pose to Taiwan, Sun said.

"However, we must stress that neither the exhibition nor our pavilion is meant to give the impression that we want to engage in an arms race with China," Sun said.

He argued that a display of weapons does not necessarily reflect their capabilities, which are "two completely different things."

Lee Shih-chiang (李世強), president of the government-owned National Chung-Shan Institute of Science & Technology, which developed the Chiang Kong missile, said there are various types of air defense missiles and lower-cost weapons designed to intercept Chinese missiles and other incoming targets at different altitudes, and that the Chiang Kong is only one of them.