Taiwan should continue to enhance military preparedness and encourage the public to fight, as the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) taste for risk-taking under Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) consolidated leadership remains to be seen, Taiwanese analysts said.
The CCP’s 20th National Congress concluded over the weekend with Xi retaining power for an unprecedented third term and stacking his government with loyalists.
US analysis and government figures have raised the possibility of Beijing developing the capability to attack Taiwan by 2027, with Washington pledging to provide Taiwan with the ability to resist invasion.
Photo: Ann Wang, REUTERS
China has no chance of successfully invading Taiwan, National Security Bureau Director-General Chen Ming-tong (陳明通) told legislators last week.
If China makes a show of military force as early as next year, as some pundits speculate, it would be with the goal of forcing Taiwan to the negotiating table, Chen said.
Whether the installment of Xi loyalists to the politburo would accelerate military aggression toward Taiwan remains to be seen, Institute for National Defense and Security Research analyst Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲) said on Sunday.
Xi might prioritize consolidating his power in his third term, although there is the possibility he could redirect internal strife toward external conflict if his grip on power wanes, Su said.
The politburo also includes military figures with a background in Taiwan issues, including Central Military Commission Vice Chairman He Weidong (何衛東) and Eastern Theater Commander Lin Xiangyang (林向陽), Su said.
The CCP “is serious about its military preparations at this stage,” he said. “We cannot afford to take them lightly.”
An absence of dissenting voices in the Central Politburo Standing Committee of the CCP could increase the chance that inaccurate information could lead the group to engage in riskier behavior, institute analyst Shu Hsiao-huang (舒孝煌) said.
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) still needs two to three years to develop the amphibious warfare capability required to acquire Taiwan, Shu added.
Although the accuracy of PLA missiles has improved in recent years, “Taiwan is not Pearl Harbor,” Su said, meaning that the possibility of defeating Taiwan in a surprise attack is low.
Military operations in other countries have shown that the tactical success of missile strikes is gradually becoming marginal in modern warfare, despite any psychological pressure they place on those being attacked, he said.
If the PLA is unable to win in a full-scale offense and must resort to a blockade or annexing outlying islands, international sanctions could take effect, he said.
The key to facing uncertainties is to strengthen defense capabilities and encourage the public to fight, Su added.
In addition to procuring armaments and improving training as planned, Taiwan must closely observe any unusual PLA activity and formulate measures to contend with emergent threats such as drone activity and helicopter incursions across the Taiwan Strait’s median line, Shu added.
Taiwan is to have nine extended holidays next year, led by a nine-day Lunar New Year break, the Cabinet announced yesterday. The nine-day Lunar New Year holiday next year matches the length of this year’s holiday, which featured six extended holidays. The increase in extended holidays is due to the Act on the Implementation of Commemorative and Festival Holidays (紀念日及節日實施條例), which was passed early last month with support from the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party. Under the new act, the day before Lunar New Year’s Eve is also a national holiday, and Labor Day would no longer be limited
COMMITMENTS: The company had a relatively low renewable ratio at 56 percent and did not have any goal to achieve 100 percent renewable energy, the report said Pegatron Corp ranked the lowest among five major final assembly suppliers in progressing toward Apple Inc’s commitment to be 100 percent carbon neutral by 2030, a Greenpeace East Asia report said yesterday. While Apple has set the goal of using 100 percent renewable energy across its entire business, supply chain and product lifecycle by 2030, carbon emissions from electronics manufacturing are rising globally due to increased energy consumption, it said. Given that carbon emissions from its supply chain accounted for more than half of its total emissions last year, Greenpeace East Asia evaluated the green transition performance of Apple’s five largest final
Taiwan is to extend its visa-waiver program for Philippine passport holders for another year, starting on Aug. 1, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said on Friday. Lin made the announcement during a reception in Taipei marking the 127th anniversary of Philippine independence and the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The decision reflected Taiwan’s commitment to deepening exchanges with the Philippines, the statement cited Lin as saying, adding that it was a key partner under the New Southbound Policy launched in 2016. Lin also expressed hope
Temperatures in New Taipei City’s Sindian District (新店) climbed past 37°C yesterday, as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) issued heat alerts for 16 municipalities, warning the public of intense heat expected across Taiwan. The hottest location in Taiwan was in Sindian, where the mercury reached 37.5°C at about 2pm, according to CWA data. Taipei’s Shilin District (士林) recorded a temperature of 37.4°C at noon, Taitung County’s Jinfeng Township (金峰) at 12:50 pm logged a temperature of 37.4°C and Miaoli County’s Toufen Township (頭份) reached 36.7°C at 11:40am, the CWA said. The weather agency yesterday issued a yellow level information notice for Taipei, New
RSS