The military exercises that Beijing started last week show that Taiwan cannot rely only on asymmetric warfare to deter a Chinese attack, but rather needs to strike a balance between the deployment of military weapons and the development of strategies and tactics to deal with different types of warfare, military experts said.
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) launched the exercises around Taiwan on Thursday last week in response to a 19-hour visit by US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi to the nation.
During the drills, China fired 11 Dongfeng short-range ballistic missiles into the waters off Taiwan, while warships and fighter jets maneuvered around the nation and crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait.
Photo: CNA
Taiwan’s navy has focused on the development of small ships such as Tuo Chiang-class corvettes.
However, when the navy monitored Chinese military movements at close range during the exercises, it became apparent that the tonnage of the vessels was much smaller than that of Chinese ships, which triggered discussions on asymmetric warfare strategies.
Lin Ying-yu (林穎佑), an assistant professor in Tamkang University’s Graduate Institute of International Affairs and Strategic Studies, on Monday said the drills demonstrate that Taiwan’s armed forces need to adjust their buildup.
For instance, if the PLA continues to use vessels and aircraft to pressure Taiwan, the navy would need medium and large-tonnage ships to effectively counter Chinese ships, and secure Taiwan’s sea power and lines of communication at sea, while simultaneously developing asymmetric combat capabilities, Lin said.
Separately, former navy lieutenant commander Lu Li-shih (呂禮詩) said Taiwan’s long-term development of small ships such as the corvettes could put naval troops at a disadvantage in a potential combat with larger Chinese vessels.
The navy should build ships that are heavier than 4,000 tonnes, he said.
When China conducted “gray-zone” operations against Taiwan during the drills, the navy was barely able to respond, Lu said, adding that the nation must develop new military methods and avoid adopting a “one-on-one” surveillance war of attrition approach.
However, Taiwan should not return to its old way of thinking, which focused on building up large-scale weapons systems or adopting asymmetric operations, but rather adopt a balanced strategy to deal with different forms of warfare, Lu said.
China’s intensive live-fire military exercises around Taiwan last week provided an excellent opportunity to review the nation’s military strategy and defensive tactics, said Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), director of the Division of National Security Research at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research.
Russia’s war on Ukraine has encouraged Taiwan to believe that urban guerrilla warfare is a feasible combat approach, Shen said.
However, the PLA recognizes that urban fighting could result in a large number of casualties, therefore adopting a blockade and encirclement strategy against Taiwan, as practiced during the drills, he said.
In response to claims that one of the objectives of the Chinese drills was to shatter a tacit mutual understanding that both sides only conduct drills on their side of the median line, Shen offered a different opinion.
A flight path map for PLA aircraft released by Taiwan’s air force showed that Chinese warplanes flew “back and forth” across the median line, he said.
This shows that although China does not recognize the median line, it remains concerned about possible military countermeasures by Taiwan.
Separately, Ministry of National Defense Operations and Planning Division head Yeh Gou-huei (葉國輝) told a news conference that asymmetric operations should not only involve building weapon platforms, but also evolving different strategic and tactical approaches.
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
UNDER PRESSURE: The report cited numerous events that have happened this year to show increased coercion from China, such as military drills and legal threats The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) aims to reinforce its “one China” principle and the idea that Taiwan belongs to the People’s Republic of China by hosting celebratory events this year for the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, the “retrocession” of Taiwan and the establishment of the UN, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said in its latest report to the Legislative Yuan. Taking advantage of the significant anniversaries, Chinese officials are attempting to assert China’s sovereignty over Taiwan through interviews with international news media and cross-strait exchange events, the report said. Beijing intends to reinforce its “one China” principle
A total lunar eclipse, an astronomical event often referred to as a “blood moon,” would be visible to sky watchers in Taiwan starting just before midnight on Sunday night, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said. The phenomenon is also called “blood moon” due to the reddish-orange hue it takes on as the Earth passes directly between the sun and the moon, completely blocking direct sunlight from reaching the lunar surface. The only light is refracted by the Earth’s atmosphere, and its red wavelengths are bent toward the moon, illuminating it in a dramatic crimson light. Describing the event as the most important astronomical phenomenon
RSS