In The Face Of China's Threat, Taiwan Is Ready To Present A Painful And Difficult Asymmetric War

Illustration of President Tsai Ing-wen inspecting a Taiwanese special forces exercise. (Wikimedia Commons/總統府)

JAKARTA - China's armed forces were able to blockade Taiwan's main ports and airports, presenting a military threat with Taiwan ready to provide difficult resistance, Taiwan's Ministry of Defense said.

China has never renounced the use of force to bring democratic Taiwan under its control and has stepped up military activity around the island, including repeatedly flying warplanes into Taiwan's air defense zone (ADIZ).

Taiwan's Ministry of Defense, in a report issued every two years, said China had launched what it called a 'grey zone' war, citing 554 'infiltrations' by Chinese warplanes into the southwest region of the ADIZ between September 2020 and the end of September. last August.

Military analysts say the tactic is aimed at conquering Taiwan through exhaustion, Reuters reported last year.

At the same time, the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) aims to complete the modernization of its troops by 2035, to gain an edge in possible operations against Taiwan and a viable capability to resist foreign forces, which is a great challenge to our national security," the ministry said. Taiwan Defense.

President Tsai Ing-wen with Taiwan defense officials. (Wikimedia Commons/總統府)

"Currently, the PLA is capable of carrying out a joint local blockade of our ports, airports and outbound flight routes, to cut off our air and sea lines of communication, impacting the flow of our military supplies and logistical resources," the ministry said, citing Reuters on November 9.

With Beijing viewing Taiwan as part of its territory, China's Ministry of Defense did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Meanwhile, President Tsai Ing-wen said Taiwan was already an independent country, pledging to defend its freedoms and democracy.

President Tsai has made strengthening Taiwan's defenses a priority, pledging to produce more domestically developed weapons, including submarines, to buying more equipment from the United States, the island's most important arms supplier and international backer.

In October, Taiwan reported 148 Chinese air force aircraft in the southern and southwestern theaters of the ADIZ over four days, marking a dramatic increase in tensions between Taipei and Beijing.

Taiwan special forces training illustration. (Wikimedia Commons/總統府)

China's recent increase in military drills in Taiwan's air defense identification zone is part of what Taipei sees as a carefully planned harassment strategy.

"His intimidating behavior not only exhausts our fighting strength and shakes our faith and morals, but also tries to change or challenge the status quo in the Taiwan Strait to ultimately achieve its goal of 'seizing Taiwan without a fight'," the ministry said.

In order to counter China's attempts to seize Taiwan quickly and resist foreign intervention, Taiwan's Ministry of Defense pledged to deepen the asymmetric war effort, making any attack as painful and difficult as possible for China.

That includes precision strikes by long-range missiles against targets in China, deployment of coastal minefields and increased training of reservists.