Taiwan plans to more than double anti-ship missiles by 2029

Taiwan is trying to turn the Taiwan Strait into a place where any Chinese landing force would pay dearly for moving first. By early 2029, the island expects to have more than 1,800 anti-ship missiles, a stockpile built around the idea that survivable, dispersed launchers can still strike back after an opening barrage.

The numbers matter because they shape deterrence. Taiwan’s anti-ship arsenal already combines U.S.-supplied Harpoon missiles with domestically produced Hsiung Feng missiles, and officials are adding more precision weapons after the legislature approved a NT$780 billion special defense spending bill on May 8, 2026, equal to about US$24.8 billion. The package runs through 2033 and is meant to support U.S. weapons purchases, giving Taipei a long runway to keep expanding the inventory.

That buildup is not aimed at matching China ship for ship. It is an asymmetric strategy built on survivability, dispersion and massed firepower, with shorter-range missiles and drone swarms meant to offset the People’s Liberation Army’s larger arsenal. Taiwanese officers want launchers that can survive the first bombardment, then reappear to hit ships trying to enforce a blockade or carry troops across the strait. The logic reflects lessons from Ukraine and Iran, where cheaper missiles and drones have complicated the plans of stronger militaries.

The core inventory is already large. A March 2026 estimate put Taiwan at roughly 1,000 indigenous Hsiung Feng II and III missiles and about 400 U.S.-supplied Harpoon coastal-defense missiles, for more than 1,400 anti-ship missiles. The Harpoon component traces back to a 2020 U.S. package that included up to 100 launchers and 400 RGM-84L-4 Harpoon Block II missiles. With the island wrapping up mass production of Hsiung Feng II and III missiles and more U.S. missiles entering service, Taiwan is moving from a substantial stockpile to a much denser one.

Defense expert Ou Si-fu said the goal is to create a “kill zone” in the Taiwan Strait, but to stop a landing rather than sink every PLA ship. Retired U.S. Marine Corps colonel Grant Newsham called the buildup sensible. For Beijing, Washington and Taiwan’s own public, the message is equally clear: Taipei is betting that enough missiles, spread across enough launchers, can raise the cost of invasion beyond what China is willing to pay.