Voters in Taiwan go on their way to the polls on Saturday to decide whether Taipei should accommodate its core possibilities, because the island is confronted with enormous vulnerabilities for energy in the midst of growing concern about China threats.
In May, Taiwan closed the nuclear power plant of Maanhan – his last remaining nuclear power plant – after the prevailing Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) promised in 2016 to abolish the nuclear force by 2025 on worries with regard to nuclear fallout after the Fukhima accident 2011 in Japan.
Since then, security experts sound that the movement further exposes Taiwan’s vulnerabilities to China, because the island is highly dependent on energy -import, highly dependent on countries such as the US, Australia, Saudi Aarabia and Qatar for both liquid natural gas (LNG) and the import of crude oil.
“The energy dependence of Taiwan is an Achilles heel,” said Craig Singleton, Senior Director and Senior Fellow of China and Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), during a media call after the visit of a delegation earlier this month.
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People enjoy their Saturday afternoon on a beach near the nuclear power plant in Maneans, which will close on 17 May 2025 at midnight at midnight, in Pingtung County, Taiwan. (Daniel Ceng/Anadolu via Getty images)
“Beijing can exploit this problem without firing a single shot,” he added, and noticed at the ease with which China can cut the trade to the island. “China can use its maritime dominance, his legal warfare and cybertools to suffocate and test the political resilience of Taiwan.”
In the past decade, Taiwan has imported up to 97% of its energy needs, largely through fossil fuel options, which are currently slightly more than 90% of its energy consumption, while renewable energy sources are said to form another 7%, according to FDD experts.
Although prior to his decision to break the ties with the alternative energy option, nuclear energy was a strong stock source and almost provided them 12% of the needs of the island in 2011.
By 2021 that offer had fallen to around 9.5% and by the following year it was immersed just over 4% Before being fully eliminated this year.
For some countries, especially in Europe, nuclear energy has become a solution because they want to drop the dependence on carbon emittering fuels in the midst of escalating concern about climate change.
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Soldiers pose for group photos with a Taiwan flag after a preparedness improvement exercise that simulates the defense against the military intrusions of Beijing, prior to the new New Year in Kaohsiung City, Taiwan on January 11, 2023. (AP Photo/Daniel Ceng)
But some countries, such as Germany, have chosen a strong anti-nuclear approach on concerns with regard to nuclear fallout-as seen after the devastating consequences of the Disaster of the Chernobyl core center of 1986, who not only had the people in the immediate vicinity of Ukraine, but were scammed.
Berlin in 2023 also completely phased out the nuclear energy – but Taiwan is confronted with some striking safety challenges that Germany is not.
Some opponents of nuclear energy have also pointed out that in wartime in wartime in recent years the security risks around active nuclear power stations have demonstrated – as can be seen during the invasion of Russia in Ukraine and her fight for the Zaporizhia -core power plant.
But experts also claim that Taiwan would probably use his stores oil to days within a few weeks if China would implement a blockade, according to a Report by DW.
That is why nuclear energy Taipei would give an extra solution for energy storage.
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People’s Liberation Army (PLA) storms ashore of landing vessels in a exercise on the coast of the mainland close to Taiwan, September 10, 1999. (Str/Xinhua/AFP via Getty images)
“In my opinion, nuclear energy changes that Calculus, which offers a lot of continuity under force, and I think it really complicates Beijing’s playbook,” Singleton argued.
Eventually he said that Taiwan should better diversify his energy needs to better protect against a potential Chinese blockade.
“The US must help Taiwan quickly diversify, to reduce exposure to vulnerable suppliers such as Qatar and probably prepare for a competition of endurance, because I think that is exactly what China thinks about this issue,” he added and noted that Qatar’s relationship with China and his large number of Export.
The PLA-Marine and the PLA army conduct a cross-day and all-factor Live-Fire Red-blue confrontation track in Zhangzhou City, Fujian Province, China, 24 August 2022. (CFOTO/FUTURE Publishing via Getty Images)
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Singleton pointed out that Ukraine has proven a useful case study, not only when it comes to the vulnerabilities of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, but how an invading nation can focus on the vulnerabilities in any aspect of the energy sector.
“Ukraine shows that energy is one of the fastest ways to undermine the will of a country. And Russia naturally focused the power to free cities and to break coheres and force concessions,” explained Singleton. “I think Beijing absolutely studies that playbook.”
