Missile misfire makes trust building urgent

Zhang Zhijun, the Chinese mainland's Taiwan affairs chief, has urged Taiwan officials to give a "responsible explanation" for the misfiring of a missile. The island's authorities confirmed on Friday afternoon that the navy had misfired a missile that morning, which hit a Taiwan fishing boat in the waters off the island, killing one person and injuring three people.

In response, Taiwan new leader Tsai Ing-wen has called for strict "military" discipline and promised a full explanation to the mainland and neighboring states. Also, the island's "military" issued a written report on Monday explaining the entire incident.

Speculations aside, the island's poor "defense" management and disorderly training program is to be blamed for the "failure of personnel to follow procedures during a test". On the one hand, many of the island's "defense" personnel, especially new recruits, are not adept at handling cutting-edge weapons like anti-ship missiles, with the misfiring of the missile being a case in point. On the other hand, the incident may have a lot to do with the low morale of and simmering discontent among the "defense" personnel.