Wed, Oct 23, 2024 page3

• Taiwan mapping out food plans in the event of war

  ‘CHINESE BLOCKADE’: Preparations include securing rice stockpiles and fish feed inventories, and storing food across the nation to lower attack risks

  • By Yimou Lee and Ben Blanchard / Reuters
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  The government yesterday offered rare details of its wartime food plan, saying it is taking monthly inventories of crucial supplies such as rice and making sure they are properly stored across the nation in case of a Chinese blockade.

  China has over the past five years staged almost daily military activities around Taiwan, including war games that have practiced blockades and attacks on ports.

  China’s latest war games around Taiwan, carried out last week, included mock blockades of key ports and areas, and assaults of maritime and ground targets, Beijing said.

  

  A woman looks at fresh produce at a supermarket in Taipei in an undated photograph.

  Photo: CNA

  In a report to the Legislative Yuan about preparations in case of a Chinese blockade, a copy of which was reviewed by Reuters, the Ministry of Agriculture said it has ensured that rice stockpiles were above a three-month level as required by law and that food supplies were stored across the nation in a bid to “lower attack risks.”

  Current rice stocks are enough to support the nation for at least seven months and plans on rice rationing through supply stations across the country are being made in case of a food crisis, the ministry said.

  During a blockade, more farmland would be used to grow rice, the ministry said, adding that it would prioritize growing sweet potatoes, soybeans and fresh vegetables, as well as using more ponds for aquaculture.

  In a scenario in which sea fishing is not allowed, the ministry said the nation’s fish feed inventory would be enough to support fishing in ponds for more than three months.

  The ministry said it was planning to set up a task force to ensure food supply safety by taking a monthly inventory of the nation’s food resources.

  Taiwan, a farming powerhouse during Japanese colonial rule from 1895 to 1945, depends on imports for the majority of its food needs as farm land was taken over for factories during rapid industrialization starting in the 1960s.

  Taiwan’s food self-sufficiency rate last year dropped to an 18-year low of 30.3 percent, a previous report from the ministry said.

  In a separate report to the legislature on preparations for the same scenario, the National Security Bureau said China’s cyberforces were honing their skills to infiltrate key online infrastructure such as telecoms in a bid to destabilize Taiwan with misinformation during a conflict with China.

  Additionally, over the past two years, China has carried out “joint combat readiness patrols” near Taiwan three to four times per month, it added.

  The number of tanker aircraft used for aerial refueling, landing ships and other forces participating in the training has been gradually increased, it said.

  “This underscores that the communist military has continued to escalate its military threat against Taiwan in an effort to establish a blockade and control of our external sea lines of communication,” the bureau said.
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