TAIPEI – A full-scale Chinese invasion of Taiwan with amphibious troops and occupied ports and airfields will be difficult to achieve given the problems China will face in landing and supplying troops. team, Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense said in its latest threat assessment.
Tensions between Taipei and Beijing, which claims the democratically-ruled island as its own territory, have increased over the past two years as China has stepped up military activities near Taiwan to pressure it. forcing the country to accept Chinese rule.
In a report sent to lawmakers, Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense said that China’s current transport capacity is so limited, it will not be able to land all of its forces at once, and will must rely on rolling waves, hitting “non-standard”. Ships need to use port facilities and transport aircraft need airports.
“However, the national army strongly defends the ports and airfields, and they will not be easily occupied in a short time. Landing operations will face extremely high risks,” the ministry said. know in your report.
China’s logistics also face challenges, as any amphibious force needs to be refueled with weapons, food and medicine across the Taiwan Strait separating the two, it added.
“The national army has the advantage that the Taiwan Strait is a natural moat and can use joint interception operations, cutting off the Communist army’s supply sources, seriously reducing its combat effectiveness and strength.” endured by the amphibious force.”
The ministry said China will also need to keep some forces in reserve to prevent any foreign forces from joining in to help Taiwan and keep a close eye on other difficult areas on China’s border, such as with India and in the South China Sea.
“U.S. and Japanese military bases near Taiwan, and any attack by the Chinese Communists necessarily need to be closely monitored, plus reserve forces to prevent military intervention. foreign affairs,” it added.
“It’s very difficult to focus all of your energy on fighting Taiwan.”
Even so, experts say, China has other means to put Taiwan on a limb before a full-blown invasion, including blockade or targeted missile attacks.
Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen is overseeing a military modernization program to make the island more difficult to attack, make the military more mobile, and use precision weapons such as long-range missiles to destroy them. destroy an attacking force.
The government is planning to spend an additional T$240 billion (C$11 billion) over the next five years to spend mainly on naval weapons, including missiles and warships.
(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Michael Perry)
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