CHINA WATCHCan Taiwan Defend Itself Against China?
Large-scale Chinese military drills near Taiwan are taking place just days after William Lai Ching-te, of Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), was sworn in as president of the island nation. Taiwan has expanded its asymmetric warfare capacity, which involves using smaller but highly effective weapons to make an invasion by a larger force prohibitively costly.
Large-scale Chinese military drills near Taiwan are taking place just days after William Lai Ching-te, of Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), was sworn in as president of the self-governing democratic island on Monday.
In his inauguration speech, Lai vowed to defend the island’s democracy, and called on China to end its military intimidation.
The leadership of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) under President Xi Jinping considers self-ruled Taiwan as Chinese territory that must be “reunited” with the mainland, by force if necessary.
On Thursday, Chinese Naval Colonel Li Xi told state media the drills are “strong punishment” for “separatist acts” three days after Lai was sworn in.
Su Tzu-yun, a research fellow at Taiwan’s Institute for National Defense and Security Research (INDSR), told DW that the exercises are part of a long-running pattern “using military means to send political signals.”
Taiwan’s ‘Asymmetric’ Approach to Counter China
Taiwan’s Defense Ministry condemned the drills as an “irrational provocation” and mobilized sea, air and ground forces in response, adding that “all officers and soldiers of the armed forces are prepared.”
Taiwanese capability to defend itself against China’s much larger People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has in recent years seen defense spending increase along with the expansion of asymmetric warfare capacity, also known as the “porcupine” strategy.
This involves using smaller, but highly effective, weapons to make an invasion by a larger force prohibitively costly.
According to a recent US Congressional report on Taiwanese defense, Washington is pushing for an asymmetric approach that “envisions Taiwan investing in capabilities intended to cripple an amphibious invasion through a combination of anti-ship missiles, naval mines, and other similarly small, distributable, and relatively inexpensive weapons systems.”
This includes the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), like the domestically developed drone “Albatross II,” which was unveiled last year.
Low-cost munitions like mobile coastal defense cruise missiles (CDCMs) can destroy China’s expensive naval vessels and equipment
Stealth fast-attack craft and miniature missile assault boats are other relatively cheap but highly effective equipment. They can be dispersed among fishing boats across Taiwan’s ports.
Sea mines and fast mine-laying ships could also complicate the landing operations of any invading navy.
Taiwan’s Natural Defenses
Geography is another asset in Taiwan’s defense. A full-scale invasion of the island would require sending hundreds of thousands of troops across the Taiwan Strait, which would be a long and laborious operation involving thousands of ships that would be vulnerable to attack.
