Taiwan is working to increase energy inventories in a move to boost the nation’s resilience in the event of a crisis, Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs Tseng Wen-sheng (曾文生) said, as China stepped up military pressure to try to force Taiwan to accept Chinese rule.
China’s blockade drills around Taiwan in August after a visit to Taipei by US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi have heightened concerns on the nation about the prospect of an attack by its neighbor, which has not ruled out using force to bring Taiwan under its control.
Tseng told Reuters in an interview that the government is ramping up its natural gas and coal inventories, part of President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) push to strengthen Taiwan’s “resilience” in an emergency amid growing global geopolitical and economic uncertainties.
Photo: CNA
“When it does happen, we need to be able to undertake pressure to a certain degree,” Tseng said, answering questions on the prospect of a Chinese blockade or attack on trade-reliant Taiwan, which imports 98 percent of its energy.
By building new storage facilities across Taiwan, the ministry is planning to raise natural gas inventories to more than 20 days by 2030, up from the current level of 11 days, he said.
Tseng said coal inventories would be increased in the coming years, while those for crude would continue at a level of more than 100 days.
He declined to give details, as making such information public “does no good to Taiwan.”
Taiwanese authorities have been looking at Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the country’s resistance in the event China ever makes good on its threat to attack Taiwan, including studying war tactics and using satellites to communicate with the outside world.
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