The Ministry of National Defense has appointed a task force to study the war between Israel and Hamas, Minister of National Defense Chiu Kuo-cheng (邱國正) said yesterday.
The task force was created with the understanding that intelligence is a key factor to prepare against potential enemy attacks, Chiu said when asked by reporters what lessons the war held for Taiwan.
While Taiwan should “make preparations for war, it should not court war,” as collateral damage can be “harrowing,” Chiu told reporters before attending a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign and National Defense Committee.
Photo: Sam Yeh, AFP
Taiwan’s armed forces hope to prevent war and they have been working tirelessly to that end, while doing their best not to misjudge situations, he said.
The military has been closely monitoring activity near the country’s territorial waters, paying close attention to signs of enemy advancement, he said.
Asked whether Taiwan was capable of calling up 300,000 reservists in a single day as Israel has done since the Hamas incursion on Saturday last week, Chiu did not give a direct answer, saying only that Taiwan is a small country and its armed forces have mobilization plans in place.
Attendance has been “quite high” at reservist training programs, he added.
During the legislative meeting, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) urged the ministry to work with the Ministry of the Interior to make the locations of the nation’s air raid shelters more well known so people could quickly get to safety in the event of an airstrike.
Full information about air raid shelters can only be accessed by scanning a QR code to access the All-Out Defense Handbook, Wang said, adding that not everyone knows how to do that.
The defense and interior ministries should ensure that the information is printed and distributed to people nationwide, he said.
An evaluation of Wang’s proposal should not be a problem, as the All-Out Defense Mobilization Agency usually meets weekly or biweekly with staff members of several central government agencies, Chiu said.
Separately, the government raised its travel alert for Israel to the second-highest “orange” level, advising people to avoid unnecessary travel.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued the highest-level “red” alert for the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, advising people not to visit either area.
The foreign ministry on Sunday lifted its alert for Israel to “yellow” from “gray” following the Hamas attack.
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