FIRST ON FOX: Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense said China has conducted training missions in the western Pacific aimed at limiting US and allied military access. The exercises reflect Beijing’s efforts to expand its anti-access/area-denial (A2/AD) capabilities – a strategy intended to prevent opposing forces from entering or operating freely in nearby regions.
Sun said Taiwan has prepared a series of responses if the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) provocations escalate into acts of war and has detailed plans to counter and survive a possible Chinese naval blockade.
RUBIO SAYS COMMITMENT TO TAIWAN WILL NOT CHANGE DURING TRADE DEALS WITH CHINA
Soldiers pose for group photos with a Taiwanese flag after a preparedness improvement exercise simulating defense against Beijing’s military intrusions ahead of the Lunar New Year in Kaohsiung City, Taiwan on January 11, 2023. (Daniel Ceng/AP Photo)
Taiwan’s military is alert to the possibility that communist China could turn a “training” or exercise into a real war. Some analysts warn that a Chinese blockade would be difficult to break, but Sun said Taiwan has “holistic plans to break.” [any] He added that Taipei would “urge its allies and like-minded partners to treat any blockade as an act of war that should provoke a coordinated international response,” noting that disruptions to shipping in the seas off Taiwan would have serious consequences for the global economy.
Sun said Taiwan expects the PLA to continue its campaign of “hybrid warfare” or “gray zone operations,” a mix of non-military and paramilitary actions designed to pressure and harass Taiwan without formally declaring war. He warned that the PLA is trying to “exhaust [Taiwan’s] defense capability and blurs the battlespace.”
FILE: In this undated file photo released by Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense, a Chinese PLA J-16 fighter jet flies at an undisclosed location. (Taiwan Ministry of Defense via AP)
An example of this can be seen in the almost daily raids of Chinese warplanes into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone, causing Taiwanese air force fighter jets to rush to intercept them. The tactic, analysts say, is deliberate – part of a broader effort to deplete Taiwan’s air force, downgrade equipment and deplete Taiwan’s personnel.
TAIWAN SEES $15 MILITARY PACKAGE AS TRUMP ADMINISTRATION SIGNALS IT’S ‘SERIOUS’ ON DEFENSE: REPORT
Beijing has never ruled Taiwan for a single day, and Taiwan’s military insists it will not allow China to dictate the rules of any future conflict. Instead, the island democracy is prioritizing the development of asymmetric warfare, a strategy in which, as Sun put it, “the weaker side strikes at the stronger side’s weak point with appropriate tactics and weapons to gain advantages on the battlefield and change the outcome of the war.”
Taiwanese military spokesman Lieutenant General Sun Li-fang addresses the media. (Taiwanese Armed Forces)
The general said Taiwan’s top priorities are building asymmetric capabilities, strengthening operational resilience, expanding reserve force capacity and improving defense against gray zone intimidation. To achieve these goals, he said, Taiwan is expanding the production and deployment of unmanned and AI-driven systems, while spreading command and control networks to make a knockout blow much more difficult. He also noted that Taiwan’s surveillance and reconnaissance units are “vigilant” and that they are “exchanging intelligence and perspectives on PLA activities with our allies and partners.”
CHINA LAUNCHES MAJOR MILITARY EXERCISES AROUND TAIWAN TO GIVE ‘SERIOUS WARNING’
Sun also rejected the idea that Taiwan lacks the will to defend itself and believes people here would strongly oppose any attempt by the People’s Republic of China to take Taiwan by force. Taiwan’s military wants the world to know it is committed to its own defense, Sun said, pointing to the proposed 2026 defense budget, which will be more than 3% of GDP. In addition, he said, the government is actively pursuing reforms to make training “as realistic as possible,” is expanding reserve forces and has already extended mandatory military service to one year.
Chinese military helicopters fly past Pingtan Island, one of the closest points of the Chinese mainland to Taiwan, in Fujian province on August 4, 2022, ahead of massive military exercises off the coast of Taiwan following US Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi’s visit to the self-governing island. – China’s largest-ever military exercises around Taiwan kicked off on August 4, in a show of force along vital international shipping lanes following a visit to the island by US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi. (Hector Retamal/AFP via Getty Images)
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
The Taiwanese government emphasizes that an attack or blockade by Beijing would not just be a local confrontation, but a global crisis. Government and military leaders of democratic Taiwan hope their statements and actions will convince China – and the world – that Taiwan will fight back with everything it has.
