The Ministry of National Defense yesterday dismissed a report by an Australian newspaper about a possible blockade of Kaohsiung Harbor, calling it "rehashed news."
The report, which quoted both US and Australian intelligence sources, claimed China had plans to stage a naval blockade of the harbor in September.
Defense ministry officials said the report, which appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald was apparently based on misinformation recently printed in Hong Kong-based newspapers, not Australian intelligence sources as it claimed.
According to the Herald, the third largest newspaper in Australia, the motive behind the planned blockade was to force Taiwan to "open early talks on reunification with the mainland."
Quoting what it said was secret US intelligence forecasts shared with Australia, the newspaper said "it is understood the US is taking the blockade preparations seriously as fears mount in Beijing that Taiwan is drifting steadily towards independence despite the mainland's threat of war."
Taiwan's defense officials said China does not need to blockade Kaohsiung Harbor for the sake of forcing Taiwan to go to the negotiation table and that if it did launch one, it would mean war against Taiwan.
During the 1996 Taiwan Strait Crisis, China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) simulated a blockade of the Taiwan Strait by lobbing ballistic missiles into waters off Keelung and Kaohsiung, Taiwan's two main harbors which are at either end of the island, defense officials said.
If the PLA wants to block the Taiwan Strait, it would just need to make a little adjustment of the flight path and firing range of its ballistic missiles pointed toward Taiwan, the officials said.
A senior naval officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, did admit that rumors of a potential blockade by the PLA could have a disturbing psychological effects upon people in Taiwan.
"Kaohsiung harbor is comprised of three ports, two civilian and one military. Does the PLA want to block all three ports at the same time? By what means can it achieve that goal?" the officer said.
"The waters in the Taiwan Strait are comparatively shallow, not suitable for submarine operations. The PLA may opt to use submarines to lay mines outside the three ports, but it has to consider the high chances of submarines being detected in the Strait," he said.
"If they look for other ways to lay mines, such as fighting ships, fishing boats and aircraft, their movements will be detected by us long before they approach the Taiwan coast."
What's more worrying to the navy than a naval blockade, the official said, is an attack scenario based on the Pearl Harbor assault during World War II.
"The scenario is likely to happen if we can not stay vigilant around the clock. If so, all the naval vessels in Kaohsiung's military port, known as Tsoying Port, will become prey for surprise attackers from China," the officer said.
"That's why we keep quite a number of ships patrolling in the region at night. Even the aging transport vessels have to take patrol missions. Although we have radar stations and missile bases in the neighborhood, we still have to take special precaution against a surprise attack."
Meanwhile, the MND announced yesterday that the armed forces will be put on a higher alert during the presidential inauguration period, starting tomorrow and lasting through next Monday.
The move was "normal procedure" for a big day like an inauguration, MND officials said.
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