Wed, Mar 26, 2025 page3

• Military prepared for blockade: Koo

  PREPARATIONS: Taiwan cannot allow China to implement a ‘fifth column’ approach, which would mean that the US could not help, a former Pentagon official said

  • By Shelley Shan / Staff reporter
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  The military has prepared countermeasures should China attempt to blockade Taiwan, an action that would devastate the world economy and that the international community would be unlikely to ignore, Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) said yesterday.

  Koo was responding to a question for comment about a Wall Street Journal report published on Sunday that said “China’s armed forces are more ready than ever to surround Taiwan, cut it off from the world and try to squeeze it into submission.”

  The report also said how the blockade would be carried out was evident in the military exercises the Chinese People’s Liberation Army has held around Taiwan.

  

  From left, Prospect Foundation president Lai I-chung; former US Department of Defense senior director for China, Taiwan and Mongolia Tony Hu; Taipei Medical University Center for General Education associate dean Chang Kuo-cheng; and Institute for National Defense and Security Research researcher Lee Che-chuan attend a forum in Taipei yesterday.

  Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times

  The military has simulated all possible military actions the enemy might take, including those indicated in US military studies, Koo told reporters on the sidelines of a legislative session.

  “The military’s first and foremost task is to prepare for the possibility of war. Taiwan has never underestimated the threat from China and has prepared countermeasures against it,” he said.

  Koo said he wanted to remind Beijing about the serious consequences to the global economy if China launches a blockade of Taiwan.

  “More than 50 percent of global trade passes through the Indo-Pacific region, and a blockade of Taiwan would have a tremendous impact on global prosperity and stability. It is unlikely that the international community would ignore such a move from China,” Koo said.

  “Facing the threat from China, we need to bolster our self-defense capabilities and work with our allies to deter such a move,” he added.

  A possible blockade of Taiwan was discussed yesterday morning by experts in a forum organized by the Vision Foundation.

  The forum was held to review the Quadrennial Defense Review published last week by the Ministry of National Defense, which provides a general overview of the nation’s defense policy over the next four years.

  Former US Department of Defense senior director for China, Taiwan and Mongolia Tony Hu (胡振東) said he agrees with US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samual Paparo’s statement that the US can break any blockade.

  A potential blockade of Taiwan would be of great concern to the US and could prompt it to take military action, Hu said.

  Once a cross-strait conflict begins, China would have to win it before the arrival of US troops and those of allies, and dominate the situation, he said.

  “There is only one way for China to launch a successful invasion of Taiwan: The fifth column that China has planted in Taiwan creates internal chaos, destroys the infrastructure here, kills Taiwanese leaders and forces a government official to represent Taiwan and surrender. If the situation happens, the US military would not be able to intervene,” Hu said, adding that other Chinese strategies would have a very low chance of success.

  US intelligence operatives would also have information on China’s potential moves if it sought to launch a fast war, he said.

  Rather than focusing on harassment by Chinese military aircraft and vessels around the Taiwan Strait, which only aims to intimidate Taiwanese, the nation should concentrate on shoring up its self-defense capabilities by increasing military spending and procuring the right weapons to deter China, he said.

  Buying defensive weapons — such as air defense systems, drones and torpedoes — would be far less expensive than the cost of wars and post-war reconstruction, Hu said.

  He also called for Taiwan to participate as an observer in next year’s Rim of the Pacific exercises, the world’s largest international maritime warfare exercise.

  Taiwan should aim to fully participate in the exercise by 2028, he said, adding that the nation’s presence at such an important military exercise should be supported by more allies now that the situation has changed.

  Taiwan should seek approval from the Pentagon and the US Department of State to enter the exercises, as well as support from the US Indo-Pacific Command, he said.

  Another way to bolster Taiwan’s capabilities in a joint operation is to practice using data and radio communication systems as well as sharing information when US Navy ships operate close to Taiwan, Hu said.
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