When pressed, Taiwan will admit that their new early warning radar atop Leshan Mountain in central Taiwan is probably the most powerful such phased array radar in the world. American experts hint that while the Leshan radar may not be the most powerful, it is among the most powerful.
Taiwan put the Leshan radar into service in January 2013 and have been quite pleased with its performance. Not only can the radar spot missile launches up to 5,000 kilometers away, it can give Taiwan about six minutes warning of a Chinese missile attack. That’s enough to alert the missile defenses and Taiwanese defense installations. ...
Early warning of a Chinese missile attack is not what the Leshan radar is used for most of the time. No, much to the distress of China the Leshan radar can also keep track of most aerial activity over China. That 5,000 kilometers range of the Leshan radar pretty much covers most of China, not to mention North Korea and, well, you get the picture. The radar covers areas closer (than 2,000 kilometers) in even more detail and this provides excellent coverage of most key Chinese military bases and weapons production facilities.
It took ten years to build and cost $1.4 billion. We helped with technology. And we've pledged to keep it modernized. Taiwan will share radar-acquired information with us in exchange for information from us on China.
Hmm. If Taiwan can get a clear picture of military activity within 2,000 kilometers, could China pull off a surprise attack on Taiwan?
Although I keep in mind that good deception involves making your target believe they know the non-threatening reason for what they see you doing rather than hiding what you are doing.
I suppose China might replace Venezuelan (who replaced Soviet) financial support of Cuba in order to return the favor with us.
Actually, I should search around a bit to see if China already has something like that in the Caribbean Sea.
