Tue, Oct 03, 2023 page3

• Taiwan, US eye new strategy: source

  • By Su Yung-yao and William Hetherington / Staff reporter, with staff writer
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  Taiwan and the US are converging on views related to Taiwan’s defense needs, with both sides agreeing that asymmetric capabilities alone are not enough, a source said on Saturday.

  The so-called “porcupine approach” to Taiwan’s defense that would seek to make an invasion a costly prospect for China is gradually being abandoned by both sides, in favor of the view that Taiwan should also enhance traditional combat capabilities, the source said.

  That change in views has been fueled by China’s escalation of “gray zone” tactics, and has culminated in strengthened Taiwan-US defense cooperation, such as in the development of Taiwan’s first domestically produced submarine.

  

  A globe is displayed in front of Chinese and Taiwanese flags in an illustration photograph taken on Aug. 6 last year.

  Photo: Reuters

  “If our country and territorial waters are like a house with a yard, then we should be projecting our forces outward as if building a fence around that yard,” the source said. “The porcupine approach would have the enemies enter our yard before we even take action, drastically reducing the space and time for a response.”

  Also, China would likely respond to a porcupine defense approach by attempting to blockade Taiwan and starve it of supplies, they said.

  The navy should build larger vessels that would help it project its strength outward and keep enemy forces beyond Taiwan’s territorial waters, they added.

  “If the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy is approaching Taiwan, we will not be able to repel them using smaller vessels, so we will need a larger fleet of medium and large ships,” the source said.

  Penghu County would also be incorporated into defense strategies that would aim to push its zone of defense toward the enemy, the source said.

  “In the future, we will develop a mixed approach to defense that will incorporate both basic combat capabilities and asymmetric capabilities,” they said.

  The US’ concepts of asymmetrical warfare is rooted in monitoring conflicts between Israel and its neighbors, which has partly informed the change in Washington’s view on Taiwan’s defense., the source said, adding that aircraft carriers were not involved in those conflicts due to the geographical conditions compared with Taiwan.

  A Taiwan-China conflict would largely be fought at sea, and China would continue to normalize encroachments leading up to such a conflict using “gray zone” tactics, so Taiwan would need large ships to respond to those threats, they said.

  The first domestically made submarine launched last week is also an important result of the consensus between the countries, they said.

  “The launch of Taiwan’s first domestically built submarine is testament to the country’s cooperation and consensus with the US on Taiwan’s defense. We must continue to strengthen that cooperation and improve our combat abilities,” the source said.
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