The offshore Penghu archipelago is more strategically important than the former frontline islands of Kinmen and Matsu, a Taiwanese academic has said, while calling on the government to bolster Penghu’s defenses to prevent a Chinese invasion, as losing the islands would imperil the whole nation.
In a Jan. 21 article titled “The Strategic Role of Penghu in the Defense of Taiwan” in the Institute for National Defense and Security Research’s Defense Situation Monthly, Paul Huang (黃恩浩), an assistant research fellow at the government-funded institute, called on the nation’s armed forces to beef up Penghu’s defenses, which play a crucial role in national defense.
Penghu, or the Pescadores, are an archipelago of 90 islands in the Taiwan Strait that have long been a strategic location since the 17th century, with the Dutch, French and Japanese all launching campaigns against the islands, Huang said.
From a global perspective, Penghu is the first line of defense in the first island chain, which refers to the major archipelagos on the East Asian continental coast: Taiwan, the Kuril Islands, the archipelago of Japan, the Ryukyu Islands, the northern Philippines and Borneo.
Their strategic location means that China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) would have to take the islands in any invasion of Taiwan.
Penghu is far more important for Taiwan’s defense than the islands of Kinmen and Matsu, Huang said.
Their proximity to China makes it extremely difficult for Taiwan to defend Kinmen and Matsu, which at their closest are only 2km from China’s Fujian Province, Huang added.
In contrast, Penghu, which is about 140km from China, has a more strategic role to play in national defense, he said.
The archipelago is the most heavily guarded of the outlying islands, Huang said, adding that troops are stationed on 16 of Penghu’s 90 islets.
About 70 of the military’s 460 M60A3 tanks are deployed in Penghu, as well as a Kidd-class destroyer at sea, which could be armed with RIM-66A Standard missiles, while the islands’ air defenses are boosted by the Indigenous Defense Fighter and the Tien Kung III surface-to-air missile system.
If Chinese military vessels invaded, troops in Penghu could also fire Hsiung Feng II anti-ship missiles, Huang said.
The 300km range of the radar station in Penghu’s Xiyu Township (西嶼鄉) allows the early detection of PLA aircraft and vessel movements in the area, covering most of the Taiwan Strait and southeastern coastal areas of China.
The loss of Penghu in the event of a cross-strait military crisis could jeopardize the security of all of Taiwan, Huang said.
As Taiwan is taking steps to build its own submarines, Huang called on the military to deploy submarines in the waters around Penghu to further deter a Chinese invasion, which would help prevent the PLA from crossing the first island chain.
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