Taiwan faces increased threats from Beijing through its expanded deployment of “gray zone” tactics, a security analyst said.
Beijing seeks to apply “extreme pressure” through non-peaceful means that fall short of conventional war, said William Chung (鍾志東), a postdoctoral fellow in the National Security and Decision-Making division of the Institute for National Defense and Security Research.
It is also attempting to change the cross-strait relationship as part of its preparations for “reunification,” he wrote in an article published in the institute’s Defense Situation Monthly on Friday, “The Cross-Strait Gray Zone Conflict and Taiwan’s Security.”
Examples of gray zone conflicts include Chinese fishing boats on March 16 intentionally ramming a Coast Guard Administration vessel near Kinmen and Chinese warships and aircraft flying missions near Taiwan’s airspace and territorial waters, he wrote.
Other examples include China’s two-and-a-half-month military exercise in the Bohai Sea, which started six days before President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) May 20 inauguration, and China’s reported plan to conduct an amphibious landing exercise near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙島) in August, he said.
“China’s gray zone conflict approach has become a new challenge to Taiwan’s national security,” Chung said.
Such tactics came as Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) has shifted Beijing’s approach to cross-strait issues and international affairs from the low-key strategy of former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping (鄧小平) to a more aggressive posture, Chung said.
Taiwan needs to build credible “hard power” to deter such threats, devise ways to avoid escalating gray-zone conflicts into military disputes and overcome social divisions caused by differences in national identity among Taiwanese, he said.
The government should draw a line and make clear what actions it would take if that line is crossed, Chung said, adding that it should also prioritize nonmilitary responses, seek international cooperation and work to boost public support, Chung said.
Yangmingshan National Park authorities yesterday urged visitors to respect public spaces and obey the law after a couple was caught on a camera livestream having sex at the park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) earlier in the day. The Shilin Police Precinct in Taipei said it has identified a suspect and his vehicle registration number, and would summon him for questioning. The case would be handled in accordance with public indecency charges, it added. The couple entered the park at about 11pm on Thursday and began fooling around by 1am yesterday, the police said, adding that the two were unaware of the park’s all-day live
Fast food chain McDonald's is to raise prices by up to NT$5 on some products at its restaurants across Taiwan, starting on Wednesday next week, the company announced today. The prices of all extra value meals and sharing boxes are to increase by NT$5, while breakfast combos and creamy corn soup would go up by NT$3, the company said in a statement. The price of the main items of those meals, if ordered individually, would remain the same. Meanwhile, the price of a medium-sized lemon iced tea and hot cappuccino would rise by NT$3, extra dipping sauces for chicken nuggets would go up
Yangmingshan National Park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) nature area has gone viral after a park livestream camera observed a couple in the throes of intimate congress, which was broadcast live on YouTube, drawing large late-night crowds and sparking a backlash over noise, bright lights and disruption to wildlife habitat. The area’s livestream footage appeared to show a couple engaging in sexual activity on a picnic table in the park on Friday last week, with the uncensored footage streamed publicly online. The footage quickly spread across social media, prompting a tide of visitors to travel to the site to “check in” and recreate the
Minister of Digital Affairs Lin Yi-ching (林宜敬) yesterday cited regulatory issues and national security concerns as an expert said that Taiwan is among the few Asian regions without Starlink. Lin made the remarks on Facebook after funP Innovation Group chief executive officer Nathan Chiu (邱繼弘) on Friday said Taiwan and four other countries in Asia — China, North Korea, Afghanistan and Syria — have no access to Starlink. Starlink has become available in 166 countries worldwide, including Ukraine, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam, in the six years since it became commercial, he said. While China and North Korea block Starlink, Syria is not
RSS