Taiwan's Patriot Missiles

Taiwan's Patriot missiles lock onto launch rails at a shadowed base, radars pulsing as crews arm warheads for imminent test-fire. U.S.-built behemoths, their subsonic intercepts haunt White House briefings—Nancy's voice tightens relaying the countdown, Leo grips the phone as Bartlet affirms the crisis play, Fitzwallace's gaze hardens, the salvo's ignition fuse threatening to unleash Chinese CSS-6 barrages across the Strait.

5 appearances

Purpose

Surface-to-air interception of ballistic missiles and aircraft through test-firing demonstrations

Significance

Ignites trans-Pacific brinkmanship, forcing Bartlet's Seventh Fleet surge into the Taiwan Strait and shattering diplomatic standoffs in the Mural Room, where ultimatums clash like incoming ordnance.

Appearances in the Narrative

When this object appears and how it's used

5 moments

S3E14 · Hartsfield's Landing

Bartlet References Indian Chess Sets, Orders Seventh Fleet into Strait

Taiwan's Patriot missiles, primed for Pingdong test-fire, ignite the call's urgency—Leo relays readiness, Bartlet refuses halt, their salvo catalyzing China's reaction and U.S. armada response.

Before: Armed and countdown-initiated at base

After: Imminent trigger for escalation

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S3E14 · Hartsfield's Landing

C.J. Deflects Taiwan Tensions and Pivots to Prophetic Primary

Taiwan's Patriot missiles dominate queries as defensive flashpoint—Katie asks about halting tests, Reporter claims provocation of war games, C.J. stresses attack-only use—embodying U.S.-Taiwan ties and '79 Act tensions fueling the briefing's core conflict.

Before: Referenced as arming for tests across the Strait

After: Same, with clarified defensive narrative intact

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S3E14 · Hartsfield's Landing

C.J. Deflects Overnight Watch Query to Hartsfield's Prophetic Primary

Taiwan's Patriot missiles loom as central flashpoint, Katie questioning delay requests while C.J. stresses their defensive nature against attacks; REPORTER accuses tests of provoking war games, positioning them as narrative pivot from peril to primary symbolism.

Before: Referenced as primed for testing amid Taiwan Strait tensions

After: Unchanged, but deflected in discourse to Pentagon briefing

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S3E14 · Hartsfield's Landing

Chinese Ambassador's CSS-6 Missile Ultimatum

Taiwan's U.S.-built Patriot missiles trigger the Ambassador's ultimatum, positioned as the spark for reciprocal Chinese tests, embodying the hair-trigger escalation where defensive systems become offensive flashpoints in superpower brinkmanship.

Before: Armed and poised for tests

After: Central to ultimatum, heightening test imminentcy

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S3E14 · Hartsfield's Landing

Josh's Tense Call: Child Support Win Clashes with Taiwan Crisis

Taiwan's Patriot missiles invoked via Josh's relay of Leo's update as defensive battery arming amid 400,000 troop threat to elections, heightening call's stakes by injecting military brinkmanship into primary pep talk, underscoring global peril eclipsing local politicking.

Before: Deploying per recent intel (off-screen)

After: Same, referenced as active crisis element

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