Chinese Military Drills Test Taiwan’s Defense Readiness, Analysts Say

Vulnerability in Taiwan’s Defense
Apart from simulating attacks on Taiwan’s outlying islands, the Chinese military also conducted drills on the eastern side of Taiwan. Chung said Beijing’s goal in conducting drills east of Taiwan is to simulate an attack on naval and air bases in eastern Taiwan, traditionally used by Taiwan’s naval and air forces to preserve their combat capabilities.

“If China would be able to deploy a naval fleet to eastern Taiwan and carry out direct attacks on Taiwan’s naval and air forces, it would seriously damage Taiwan’s defense capabilities,” he told VOA.

Chung said Taiwan currently lacks effective ways to defend against a potential Chinese attack on key military assets in eastern Taiwan.

“The new government under Lai Ching-te needs to convince the United States to provide Taiwan with longer-range, air-launched anti-ship missiles to allow Taiwan to hit Chinese naval vessels in the event of a Chinese attack on eastern Taiwan,” he said.

Since the military exercise allows the Chinese military to familiarize themselves with the environment around Taiwan while testing Taiwanese forces’ response time, Cole said Taipei must now be prepared for various contingencies, including a potential Chinese blockade.

“Taiwan’s armed forces must assess how best to secure their lines of communication between Taiwan proper and its outlying islands while interdicting the Taiwan Strait with a mix of traditional and asymmetrical platforms,” he told VOA.

Psychological Warfare
While Beijing’s latest military drills around Taiwan pose some new challenges to the island’s defense capabilities, some analysts say the Chinese military is also trying to weaken the confidence of the Taiwanese military and the public by using aggressive propaganda campaigns.

“Beijing is trying to affect the Taiwanese military and public’s morale by releasing videos and images of Chinese military activities around Taiwan, but Taiwanese authorities neutralized the effect of China’s psychological warfare by releasing videos of the Taiwanese military tracking Chinese military activities around the island,” Taiwanese analyst Su told VOA.

Some Taiwanese people think their government should show Beijing that it has the capabilities to counter Chinese military aggression, while others think authorities in Taipei should prioritize efforts to maintain peace.

“It’s time to show Beijing that we are not a paper tiger,” Marcos Cheng, a 29-year-old office worker, told VOA by phone.

On Friday, Chinese Defense Ministry spokesperson Wu Qian warned that whenever “Taiwan independence forces” provoke China, Beijing will take one step further to counter such attempts, emphasizing that Chinese military pressure on Taiwan will not stop until reunification is achieved.

Chung told VOA that Beijing would likely launch similar military drills around Taiwan in the coming months as it tries to maintain pressure on Taiwan’s new government.

“Since Beijing’s latest military exercise didn’t involve live-fire drills, they may turn it into part of their regular practice around Taiwan,” he said.

William Yang is freelance correspondent at Voice of America. This article is published courtesy of the Voice of America (VOA).