Taiwan frequently faces natural disasters such as typhoons and earthquakes. Despite its relatively small population, the island nation has historically managed these challenges through the resilience and cooperation of its highly educated and cohesive society, supported by some of the strictest building codes in the world.
Highlighting Taiwan’s expertise, American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Raymond Greene noted at the Forward Alliance’s cross-sector emergency preparedness exercise in September that the response to the April earthquake in Hualien County saved countless lives and prevented tens of billions of dollars in economic losses.
While the tragedy claimed 18 lives, Greene emphasized that Taiwan’s advanced capabilities and effective coordination across government, the military, private sector and civil society were key to mitigating the disaster’s impact.
Given that Taiwan has shown resilience in mitigating natural disasters, the greatest threat to its way of life comes from a potential Chinese invasion. To address this, President William Lai (賴清德) is spearheading the whole-of-society resilience campaign, a comprehensive strategy to prepare the nation for both natural disasters and military threats, particularly from China.
Building on initiatives launched by former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), whole-of-society resilience integrates government agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), corporations and civilians into a unified and adaptable defense framework.
Complementing this effort are key measures such as the extension of military service to one year from four months and the establishment of the All-Out Defense Mobilization Agency. This agency coordinates administrative and military mobilization, ensuring comprehensive preparations across manpower, resources, finances, technology and military readiness.
The ultimate goal is to enhance Taiwan’s overall combat capability while aligning with the Disaster Prevention and Protection Act (災害防救法) to mobilize the population for disaster prevention, emergency response and support of military operations.
The recently established Whole-of-Society Defense Resilience Committee includes representatives from government, grassroots organizations, tech firms, religious groups and private businesses. This committee reflects a shift toward leveraging civilian expertise and resources to strengthen civilian training in areas such as first aid, evacuation planning and countering disinformation, as well as to secure critical infrastructure and supply chains.
Key organizations like the Forward Alliance and Kuma Civil Defense Education Association are actively preparing Taiwan’s public for emergency response and resistance. The Forward Alliance, supported by US-based NGOs like Spirit of America, has trained thousands of civilians and law enforcement personnel in emergency preparedness. The Kuma Academy, operating under the principle Si vis pacem, para bellum (If you want peace, prepare for war), focuses on fostering a pre-war mindset by equipping people with self-defense skills, resilience and the ability to counter enemy disinformation in both peace and wartime.
The “porcupine strategy” synergizes with Taiwan’s whole-of-society resilience by focusing on asymmetric defense tactics that extend beyond the military to encompass the civilian sphere. First articulated in 2008 by William Murray, a professor at the US Naval War College, the porcupine strategy emphasizes defensive capabilities designed to make an invasion by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) as costly and difficult as possible.
Likened to the spines of a porcupine, this approach focuses on “denial” rather than “control,” targeting the PLA’s logistics and operational centers before they could close in on Taiwan. Inspired by similar asymmetric tactics used by Ukraine against Russian forces, the strategy equips widely distributed, agile units with precision weapons, allowing them to impose significant costs on an invading force. While sometimes criticized for its perceived passivity, the porcupine strategy has significantly influenced Taiwan’s broader defense planning.
The Modern War Institute, a research center located at the US Military Academy at West Point, highlights the critical role of civilian resistance in Taiwan’s defense, emphasizing the need to prepare the population to resist a potential Chinese occupation.
The report underscores the importance of organizing and training civilians before conflict arises. While the porcupine strategy focuses on creating a militarily formidable defense through asymmetric tactics that complicate invasion efforts, whole-of-society resilience expands this concept by mobilizing the entire population to sustain resistance and disrupt occupation forces.
By combining active military defense with a trained, cohesive civilian effort, Taiwan could raise the costs of invasion for China, deter aggression and ensure that any occupation becomes untenable. Resistance must be locally driven, leveraging Taiwan’s technological advancements to counteract the PLA’s superior numbers and disrupt their ability to achieve long-term control.
The whole-of-society resilience strategy focuses on five key pillars: civilian training, stockpiling critical materials, securing infrastructure, bolstering medical and evacuation systems, and protecting communication and financial networks.
A key initiative involves training 400,000 civilians to support emergency responses, drawing inspiration from Ukraine, Sweden and Baltic total defense models.
Taiwan has already made significant progress by expanding air raid shelters, disaster centers and resilient communication systems while investing in energy reserves and critical infrastructure security. These measures aim to withstand blockades, disruptions or outright conflict by ensuring supply chain resilience for food, medicine and energy.
Despite its ambitions, whole-of-society resilience faces challenges, including resource constraints, bureaucratic competition and the need to maintain public confidence without inciting panic.
However, it also opens opportunities for expanded US-Taiwan cooperation in areas like disaster response, cybersecurity and critical infrastructure protection, partnerships that could enhance Taiwan’s resilience and strengthen its geopolitical position in the Indo-Pacific.
The Washington-based think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies’ report published earlier this month, “Strengthening Resilience in Taiwan,” underscores the urgency of addressing vulnerabilities in energy infrastructure, public readiness and strategic reserves.
It recommends raising public threat awareness through strategic communication, engaging the private sector to protect critical infrastructure, and ensuring redundancy in food and energy.
Whole-of-society resilience is more than just a defense strategy; it is a comprehensive plan to unify Taiwan’s society, infrastructure and governance in the face of growing threats, ensuring the nation’s ability to survive and thrive under pressure.
While challenges remain, whole-of-society resilience represents a vital step in bolstering Taiwan’s resilience and deterring aggression.
Antonio Graceffo, a China economic analyst who holds a China MBA from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, studies national defense at the American Military University.
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