What is the T-Dome that Taiwan has announced to counter ‘enemy’ strikes?

There’s Israel’s Iron Dome; the United States is working on its Golden Dome; India has its own Iron Dome in the form of the Sudarshan Chakra. And now, Taiwan has committed to building its own multi-layered air defence system called ‘T-Dome’.

On Friday (October 10), Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te said that the country would build a new multi-layered air defence system called ‘T-Dome’ to defend itself against enemy threats and increase defence spending, in a nod to China’s increasing threats to the self-governed island.

But what do we know about this new defence system? Why is it necessary?

A T-Dome for Taiwan

In his National Day celebration speech, President Lai Ching-te vowed to speed up construction of a multi-layered air defence system as part of efforts to counter “enemy threats”.

“We will accelerate our building of the T-Dome, establish a rigorous air defence system in Taiwan with multi-layered defence, high-level detection, and effective interception,” Lai said, adding that Taiwan was determined to “maintain peace through strength” and called on China to “renounce the use of force or coercion to change the status quo across the Taiwan Strait”.

He further reiterated plans to ramp up defence spending to more than three per cent of gross domestic product next year and five per cent by 2030. “We will advance the integration of high-tech and AI technologies to build a smart defence combat system, maximising effective deterrence for our asymmetric strategy,” Lai said.

While the Taiwan president didn’t provide any further details on the T-Dome — the cost remains unknown and it is unknown how long it would take to become operational — most experts believe that the T-Dome is being built on the same lines of Israel’s Iron Dome.

For the unaware, the Iron Dome is a short-range missile defence system and designed to intercept short-range rockets, as well as shells and mortars, at ranges of between four kilometres and 70 kilometres from the missile launcher. It is widely regarded as one of the most important tools in Israel’s defensive arsenal.

Moreover, the Iron Dome detects and tracks incoming rockets with radar and calculates which ones are likely to reach populated areas. It then fires missiles at these rockets, leaving the others to fall on open ground.

The capabilities of the Iron Dome have been evident during Israel’s war with Hamas, which started in October 2023. The shield has intercepted thousands of rockets fired by Hamas and other militant groups, such as Hezbollah over the last two years.

And it now seems that Taiwan is looking to build something on the same lines. A senior presidential official said, “We are hoping to build a more thorough air defence net with a higher interception rate,” adding that countries like the United States are also building similar systems. In fact, earlier in May, US President Donald Trump circulated plans for his $175 billion “Golden Dome” missile defence system , which would even have the ability to shoot down missiles in space.

But experts warn that the T-Dome isn’t coming anytime soon. Political scientist Hung-Jen Wang of the National Cheng Kung University was quoted as telling the BBC, “If the system is modelled after Israel’s, it will require a massive budget. It won’t be easy.”

Similarly, Dennis Weng of Sam Houston State University, said that the building of the T-Dome won’t happen quickly. “It will take longer than the remainder of Lai’s term to build it, he said, which suggests the message is “clearly aimed at the US”.

China’s growing military threats to Taiwan

It’s important to note that Taiwan president’s announcement of the T-Dome comes in wake of increased Chinese military activity around the island. China views Taipei as its own territory, with , Xi Jinping asserting that Taiwan is China’s sacred territory. Also, last December, the Chinese president was even quoted as saying that “no force can stop China’s reunification with Taiwan”.

But Taiwan doesn’t see it the same way. Taipei insists that the island’s future can only be determined by its 23 million residents and has repeatedly called on Beijing to respect their democratic choice.

This has led to tensions between the two with Beijing upping the ante. In April, Beijing launched large-scale military drills around Taiwan, accusing its leaders of being “separatists” and “parasites” who were pushing the democratically run island into war.

Later, US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth warned that China’s attempt to conquer Taiwan by force “could be imminent”. Even Admiral Samuel Paparo, the commander of US Indo-Pacific Command seemed to agree with Hegseth. He told the US Congressional Armed Services Committee that China has been engaging in “unprecedented aggression and military modernisation”, and that China’s drills around Taiwan are “not just exercises – they are rehearsals”.

On October 9, Taiwan’s defence ministry also noted that China is increasing military activities near Taiwan and honing its ability to stage a surprise attack, as well as seeking to undermine trust in the government with “hybrid” online warfare tactics.

“The Chinese communists have adopted routine grey zone harassment tactics, combined with joint combat readiness patrols, targeted military exercises and cognitive warfare, posing a comprehensive threat to us,” the defence ministry said in a report released every two years.

The ministry in its report added, “Through both conventional and unconventional military actions, it aims to test its capabilities for attacking Taiwan and confronting foreign forces.”

China reacts to Lai’s remarks

The Taiwan’s president’s remarks on building a T-Dome has angered China, saying it exposed Lai’s stubborn nature as a troublemaker.

“Lai’s speech distorted right and wrong, peddled fallacies of Taiwan independence and secession, and distorted and challenged historical facts and international consensus, once again exposing his stubborn nature as a troublemaker … and warmaker,” said Guo Jiakun, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman.

With inputs from agencies