A J-10 fighter jet attached to an aviation brigade of the air force under the PLA Southern Theater Command takes off for a round-the-clock flight training exercise on November 10, 2020.Photo:China Military

 The air-launched cruise missiles made in the island of Taiwan that reportedly  are able to strike key military facilities along the coast of the Chinese mainland cannot reach their intended targets, Chinese mainland experts said on Sunday, after the military on the island recently test-fired one in a move analysts warned is a dangerous act of resisting reunification by force.

An IDF fighter jet attached to the First Fighter Wing of the Taiwan island's air force on Wednesday carried out a test launch of the Wan Chien cruise missile developed by a research institute on the island, Taipei-based newspaper the Liberty Times reported on Friday.

As a result of the test-firing, the island's first and third fighter wings are now capable of striking airports, bases, and troop assembly areas along the southeastern coast of the Chinese mainland, the report claimed.

The Wan Chien missile, capable of carrying hundreds of submunitions and hitting targets 200 kilometers away, is currently being mass-produced, reports said.

Beijing-based military expert Wei Dongxu told the Global Times on Sunday that the Taiwan missile, partially using a US design, could be used as a long-range, ace-in-the-hole weapon in countering amphibious landing attacks and actively attacking opposing military installations.

Despite the potential threats, the missile can be easily intercepted. The combat capability of the IDF fighter jets is not outstanding, and thanks to the mainland's vast early warning system and ability to win aerial superiority, the Taiwan fighter jets would be destroyed before they get the chance to launch the Wan Chien missiles, Wei said.

Even if the IDFs manage to launch some, the missiles can still be intercepted by air defense missiles and guns, since this type of missile mainly glides in the air at only low speeds and is easily picked up and locked onto by radars, Wei said.

Chinese mainland military observers said that the missile is essentially an airborne munitions dispenser, a type of weapon the Chinese mainland also has and with better technologies applied. Multiple types of airborne munitions dispensers developed by the Chinese mainland - some of them available for export - have been showcased in past air shows and media reports.

One type of the Chinese mainland airborne munitions dispenser revealed by China Central Television (CCTV) in August can carry 240 submunitions of six types, which, when released, can cover more than 6,000 square meters, meaning it can disable an airfield for an extended period with only one shot, and no aircraft could take off and land, analysts said.

The test-firing of the Wan Chien missile comes at a sensitive time in the Taiwan Straits and is a dangerous move. Any attempts by Taiwan secessionists to resist reunification by force are bound to meet their doom, as the military in the mainland has an overwhelming advantage over the military on the island in all aspects, including equipment, technologies, tactics, war preparedness of troops and sheer numbers, analysts said.