Taiwan should prioritize the acquisition of precision-guided munitions over weapons platforms, the Institute of National Defense and Research said.
The Ministry of National Defense-affiliated think tank on Dec. 30 published a slew of annual reports on China’s military, Taiwan’s national defense technology and the strategic landscape in the Indo-Pacific region.
Citing their affordability and survivability, it said precision-guided munitions have the advantage of giving Taiwan the greatest possible boost in defensive combat power under current resource and time constraints.
Such munitions, when integrated into an investment in innovative asymmetric warfare capabilities, would enable Taiwan to counter Chinese air and sea power with ground-based weaponry, the institute said in its Report on the Defense Technology Trend Assessment.
Such munitions are part of innovative asymmetric warfare capabilities that the nation needs to counter Chinese air and sea power using ground-based weaponry, which is key to stopping the enemy’s amphibious forces from landing, the report said.
Emphasizing the development of dual-use technology can help Taiwan tap into the industrial potential of its civilian economy, the report said.
The passage of the Defense Industry Development Act (國防產業發展條例) in November last year can go a long way in addressing the shortfalls in previous military-civil integration efforts, which have failed to yield tangible results, it added.
Beijing is sure to conduct more air and sea drills that realistically simulate war in and around the Taiwan Strait, and the East China and South China seas, the institute said in its Report on the Development of the Chinese Communist Party’s Politics and Military.
China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) has deployed its carrier strike group in maneuvers to probe the air and sea defenses of Taiwan and Japan, and as a show of force, the report said.
While the PLAN intends to transform itself into a fleet capable of fending off the US Navy and projecting power to distant shores, its inferior tonnage regarding carriers and amphibious assault ships means that it would remain a regional navy for the time being, it said.
The rapid growth in the number of PLAN vessels has likely strained its ability to deploy adequately trained personnel in sufficient numbers, with fiscal uncertainty being another risk factor in its force design, the report said.
The Chinese military’s war games and patrols are intended to counter the US Navy’s freedom of navigation operations, convey its deterrence posture and strengthen its positioning in gray-zone warfare to set conditions for waging a sea-and-air war in the South China Sea, it said.
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