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.
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