By Zhang Zhouxiang
Several Taiwan-based media outlets have reported that the local military sent the theodolite, a precision optical instrument, of Hsiung Feng III, a medium-range supersonic missile, to its manufacturers in Switzerland for repairs and that it was ultimately fixed using spare parts made in Qingdao, Shandong province.
While checking with the manufacturers, the scientists got to know that the theodolite was sent to the repair center on the Chinese mainland, triggering suspicion in the local media that their missile's secrets risked getting leaked.
The fears are unfounded as it is difficult for the maintenance side to guess the customers' secrets. The fact that the theodolite came to Shandong for repairs shows that its technology is no secret on the mainland. Besides, why should the weaker side worry about its technology leaking to the stronger side?
The Hsiung Feng III's poor performance actually makes one wonder why anybody would want to lay their hands on its "secrets". Some Taiwan military "experts" pinned a lot of hope on the missile, calling it an "aircraft carrier killer", but in July 2016, during tests, the missile hit a local fishing boat, killing one and injuring three, earning it the title of "fishing boat killer".
Reports said the fishing boat was 1.9 nautical miles away from the missile's target. The Taiwan military called it an accident. Worse still, despite being hit by an "aircraft carrier killer", the fishing boat did not even sink. That makes one wonder if the missile system really has some secrets that are worth guarding.
The missile-repair incident should awaken some stone-headed secessionists on the island to the widening gap between the Chinese mainland and the island, both of which belong to China. The industrial, technological and military capabilities between the two are incomparable. The secessionists should give up their dream of stopping the irreversible trend of national reunification before a missile lands on somebody's head.
