A tabletop exercise series has begun simulating possible scenarios if the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) launched a war against Taiwan in the guise of a military exercise.
The exercise series is jointly organized by National Chengchi University’s Institute of International Relations, Taiwan Center for Security Studies and Asia-Pacific Policy Research Association.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chen Yeong-kang (陳永康), former American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) director William Stanton and Taiwan Center for Security Studies director Liu Fu-kuo (劉復國) attended the event in Taipei yesterday.
Photo: Lin Cheng-kun, Taipei Times
Scenarios that would be simulated include changing political circumstances in the US during US President Donald Trump’s tenure and the PLA’s “gray zone” harassment around Taiwan, such as damaging submarine cables, Liu told reporters.
The series would simulate how people in Taiwan should respond in terms of military, national security, diplomacy and economy if a PLA military exercise turned into an invasion, Liu said.
Despite a rise in cross-strait tensions, the likelihood of China launching an invasion remains low, Liu said, adding that proactive military actions from China are generally launched in coordination with its political moves.
Beijing’s recurring military exercises do not necessarily mean that it would launch an all-out invasion of Taiwan, Chen said.
“Instead they are a strategic act designed to intimidate Taiwanese, put constant pressure on the nation and engage in an attritional battle” to drain its resources, he said.
Chen said that the purpose of the exercise series is to identify strategies for the government to implement to control risks and prevent war, adding that Taiwan’s social resilience and military defense capabilities should also be bolstered.
Stanton said former president Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) decision to restore mandatory military service to one year was the right one, but it would be more appropriate to extend it to two-years of service given the potential threat facing Taiwan.
“We hope to see a stronger Taiwanese military and less political division ... Now is not the time for politics,” he said.
Taiwan should take advantage of its status in the semiconductor industry and win over support from other countries, Stanton said.
Asked if Taiwan would be in a situation similar to that of Ukraine, Stanton said that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has expressed strong support for Taiwan, while Trump refused to say explicitly what he would do in a cross-strait conflict.
Trump understands that he would have to handle his relations with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and has strategic considerations, he said, adding that a free and democratic Taiwan is worth the support from the US.
Regarding how to learn from the Ukrainian military, Chen said what worked for Ukraine might not work for Taiwan, but it should learn from the failures of the Ukrainian military.
Seeing how the US and Ukraine interacted should remind Taiwan to bolster its own capabilities in handling cross-strait conflicts, he said.
“Not only must we maintain our relations with the Trump administration, but we must strive to pursue peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait,” he said.
Eight Chinese naval vessels and 24 military aircraft were detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait between 6am yesterday and 6am today, the Ministry of National Defense said this morning. The aircraft entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defense identification zones, the ministry said. The armed forces responded with mission aircraft, naval vessels and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor the situation, it added. Eight naval vessels, one official ship and 36 aircraft sorties were spotted in total, the ministry said.
INCREASED CAPACITY: The flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays would leave Singapore in the morning and Taipei in the afternoon Singapore Airlines is adding four supplementary flights to Taipei per week until May to meet increased tourist and business travel demand, the carrier said on Friday. The addition would raise the number of weekly flights it operates to Taipei to 18, Singapore Airlines Taiwan general manager Timothy Ouyang (歐陽漢源) said. The airline has recorded a steady rise in tourist and business travel to and from Taipei, and aims to provide more flexible travel arrangements for passengers, said Ouyang, who assumed the post in July last year. From now until Saturday next week, four additional flights would depart from Singapore on Monday, Wednesday, Friday
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday reported the return of large-scale Chinese air force activities after their unexplained absence for more than two weeks, which had prompted speculation regarding Beijing’s motives. China usually sends fighter jets, drones and other military aircraft around the nation on a daily basis. Interruptions to such routine are generally caused by bad weather. The Ministry of National Defense said it had detected 26 Chinese military aircraft in the Taiwan Strait over the previous 24 hours. It last reported that many aircraft on Feb. 25, when it spotted 30 aircraft, saying Beijing was carrying out another “joint combat
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) today said that if South Korea does not reply appropriately to its request to correct Taiwan’s name on its e-Arrival card system before March 31, it would take corresponding measures to alter how South Korea is labeled on the online Taiwan Arrival Card system. South Korea’s e-Arrival card system lists Taiwan as “China (Taiwan)” in the “point of departure” and “next destination” fields. The ministry said that it changed the nationality for South Koreans on Taiwan’s Alien Resident Certificates from “Korea” to “South Korea” on March 1, in a gesture of goodwill and based on the
RSS