Chinese scholars criticize Taiwan’s ‘aircraft carrier killer’

Taiwan on December 15 launched the Thap Giang ship, the second ship in the Da Giang class of catamaran defense ships, which uses many technologies to hide from enemy radar and infrared sensors.

For self-defense, Thap Giang can also carry Thien Kiem II anti-aircraft missiles, a 76 mm naval gun, a Phalanx close-in defense complex and two Mark 32 torpedo launchers.

Guardianship Thap Giang at the launching ceremony on December 15.

Tong Zhongping, a military expert in Beijing, admitted that Thap Giang is a `small but powerful warship, possessing strong firepower`, but said that the strategy Taiwan intends to use this corvette against

`Thapjiang may find a way to launch missiles at mainland warships from outside air defense range, but Beijing will not launch an aircraft carrier from the start to deal with Taiwanese guard ships, instead it will use aircraft

Mainland experts believe that the PLAN’s aircraft carrier groups will operate at a distance and deploy J-15 fighter ships to attack targets such as the Thap Giang corvette.

Mainland experts also believe that the Da Giang class has a small size and displacement but is crammed with too many weapons, making it impossible for them to carry large radar systems to detect targets and guide missiles at range.

`Meanwhile, the PLAN’s Type-022 light missile ship has an integrated intelligence system to support combat,` Tong said, saying that the Da Giang class could become a `shooting target` for

Taiwanese media then spoke out to refute the mainland experts’ comments, saying they had omitted many details about the Thap Giang ship’s features.

`It will be difficult for mainland Chinese aircraft to find this warship in time to prevent it from launching missiles, because the Da Giang class possesses many advanced stealth technologies with a very small radar reflection area,` the article said.

Chinese Z-9 armed helicopter.

Taiwanese experts point out that the Da Giang class is equipped with surveillance radar and fire control radar, accompanied by an electronic warfare system with early warning and suppression complexes to deal with anti-ship missiles.

`They also did not take into account the Thien Kiem II air defense missiles with a speed 6 times faster than sound and a range of 60-100 km, while the Z-9 helicopter only reaches a maximum speed of 305 km/h and is a target.

Taiwan plans to commission at least 6 Da Giang-class ships before 2023 and build 5 more ships after that, to improve asymmetric combat capabilities.

China considers Taiwan a part of its territory awaiting reunification and is ready to use force if necessary.