Taiwan’s armed forces must reach a high level of combat readiness by 2027 to effectively deter a potential Chinese invasion, Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) said in an interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister newspaper of the Taipei Times) published yesterday.
His comments came three days after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told the US Senate that deterring a Chinese attack on Taiwan requires making a conflict “cost more than what it’s worth.”
Rubio made the remarks in response to a question about US policy on Taiwan’s defense from Republican Senator John Cornyn, who said that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) has instructed the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to be capable of seizing Taiwan by 2027.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
Rubio said: “In essence, it has to cost more than what it’s worth.”
“Deterrence is the key,” he said, adding that deterrence “obviously begins with Taiwan’s own self-defense capabilities.”
“The harder they are to take militarily, the more time I think they buy for themselves,” he said.
When asked about the matter, Koo said in the interview that he has demanded military service personnel and the command structure to “feel urgency” when they conduct training, procure arms or make other military preparations.
A high level of combat readiness must be achieved in tangible and psychological terms, he said, adding that Taiwan has to display “fierce resolve” to defend itself for China to understand that the costs of war outweigh potential gains.
“We must be sure that China wakes up every morning thinking that it is not a good day [for war],” he said.
Taiwan can force Beijing to continually postpone any plans to invade by ensuring that China would pay a heavy price for waging war, Koo said.
Rubio’s recent comments underscored Taiwan’s strategically crucial position to the security of the Indo-Pacific region and the necessity for the nation to enhance its self-defense capabilities, he said.
With that in mind, Taiwan hopes that Washington would continue to support its efforts to procure arms and train its military personnel, Koo said.
The ministry’s medium and long-term force structure strategy emphasizes developing asymmetric capabilities, enhancing defensive resilience, strengthening reserve forces and countering China’s “gray zone” tactics, he said.
Building deep stockpiles of arms, munitions and strategic material would be essential to the nation’s ability to withstand long-range precision strikes or a protracted war of attrition, he added.
“What lessons did Xi learn from three years of war between Russia and Ukraine? Was he encouraged or alarmed?” Koo asked.
If China found itself fighting in Taiwan for three years or more, it would have to face the consequences of severe economic sanctions, loss of supply chains, capital flight and a collapse of confidence in the market, he said.
Additional reporting by Fang Wei-li
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