Taiwan Plans Missile Boats In Disputed Spratlys

Taiwan is planning to deploy missile boats in the South China Sea and tanks on disputed islands as regional tensions mount over territorial differences, a military spokesman said Sunday.

Taiwan's defence ministry said it feared coastguards now stationed in the Spratlys, claimed by several nations, and the Pratas islands, claimed by China, may not be sufficiently heavily-equipped to handle potential conflicts.

"Currently the coastguards in the Nansha (Spratlys) and Tungsha (Pratas) are only armed with light weapons," Taiwan's defence ministry spokesman David Lo told AFP.