Taiwan can upgrade and procure many modern missiles in the hope of holding off the Chinese military if a conflict breaks out.

The Taiwanese leader, Thai Anh Van, took office for a second term on May 20, declaring he wanted to have a dialogue with Beijing but did not follow the 'One China' principle. However, she also pledged to strengthen Taiwan's defenses.

Military analysts believe that the focus of investment to develop Taiwan's asymmetric warfare capability is the missile and weapons program that can help the island defenders hold against the Chinese army when

"Asymmetric combat doctrine focuses on missiles, torpedoes, aircraft and unmanned ships, as well as cyber warfare, of which missiles are the most effective weapon for deterring and attacking opponents.

He said that promoting Taiwan's missile development was a reasonable choice, given that China's military is growing in all aspects, and that Taiwan is unable to race arms because of its limited budget.

Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang reaffirmed his goal of unifying Taiwan when speaking at the National People's Congress meeting on May 22, but did not mention the word "peace" in the phrase "unity".

China has always considered Taiwan a territory that waits for reunification, including by force if necessary, putting Taiwan Strait in danger of becoming a hot spot for military conflict.

To overcome this, the Chung-shan Institute of Science and Technology, which is considered the cradle of Taiwan's rocket, has been cooperating with the island defense force since the 1970s to develop a variety of weapons.

Thai Anh Van leaders visited the facility in January, calling on Taiwan's defense authorities and Chung-shan Institute to accelerate plans to mass-produce Thien Cung 3 anti-ship missiles and super anti-ship missiles.

Chung-shan Institute in April launched a series of rockets, including Thien Cung 3 and Van Phong supersonic cruise missile.

The Thien Cung 3 rocket was first revealed during the island defense budget assessment in 2014, which is in the list of 10 self-developed weapons under the force modernization project with a total value of 233 million USD.

Chang Cheng, an engineer who worked on the development of the Hung Phong 3 rocket, said the Thien Cung 3 variant has a range of 70 km, a significant increase from the 45 km range of the old versions, allowing it to shoot down a lot.

Meanwhile, analysts say that Van Phong has a supersonic speed and a range of about 1,500 km, enough to attack a key target deep within mainland China such as Beijing, Tianjin.

The Van Phong rocket is equipped with a straight-line jet engine (ramjet) and a semi-armor warhead combined with explosive detonation, suitable for striking a variety of targets on the ground and in the basement.

The Chung-shan Institute declined to comment on Van Phong, which was first revealed in December 2012 but it seems that the development process has started since the Taiwan Strait crisis in 1996, when China tested.

Su Tzu-yun, an analyst at the Taiwan Institute for Security and Defense Research (INDSR), said the Van Phong missile could significantly limit the combat capability of the Chinese military.

The Chinese Air Force is considered the biggest threat to the island of Taiwan, making mainland Chinese military airports a key target for Taiwanese missile strikes.

Tung Li-wen, an INDSR researcher, confirmed that the upgraded 2E version of the Hung Phong subsonic cruise missile range has a range of 1,000 km, which is enough to threaten the Yangtze and Chau Giang deltas.

In addition to long-range missile projects, Taiwan is also developing and upgrading many medium and short-range weapons such as Thien Kiem air-to-air missiles with a range of 120 km, Hung Phong anti-ship missiles and action missiles.

China recently increased pressure on Taiwan, threatening Taipei to "pay" for pursuing separatism.

Taiwanese officials are increasingly concerned that China will step up military operations to "blur the border" with the island after controlling Covid-19.