China may have a laser weapon, similar in concept to theUnited States’ air-borne laser (ABL), which they can and may bedeploying near Taiwan, in addition to their buildup of short rangeballistic missiles.
The Taipei Times cites Taiwanese defensesources that the laser cannon, with a range over 100km—again,comparable to the ABL—has been deployed in Fujian Province facingTaiwan, and that it could be used to disable military command andcontrol systems. One defense official, however, noted that the cannonmay only still be in development: “We tend to hope for the best butprepare for the worst. We would rather believe that China has alreadydeveloped such a weapon and that we should start making preparations assoon as possible.” The Times notes that the United States and Israelhave developed laser weapons—the ABL and the Tactical High Energy Laser(THEL)—but these are used as anti-missile defense systems. It is,however, plausible that the Chinese system is designed to have ananti-missile defense capability.
