The nation could withstand an attack from China for two weeks, a local newspaper said yesterday, in comments seen aimed at assuaging fears raised by a computer simulation indicating that Taipei could be captured in six days.
Tensions have been running high in the Taiwan Strait as China prepares for a possible military showdown, convinced President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) will push for formal statehood during his second term.
Both sides are holding their annual war games, with China staging mock-invasion drills and Taiwan pretending to fend off an attack.
A computer-simulated exercise showed the 2.5-million-strong People's Liberation Army (PLA) could take the island's capital in just six days, Taiwan local media reported on Wednesday.
The China Times yesterday quoted authoritative military sources as saying the computer had made certain assumptions -- such as no help from the United States -- and it did not mean Taiwan would be defeated so quickly.
"The sources indicate, in the event of a `first strike,' the air force and navy can preserve of their fighting capabilities while the army can maintain 80 percent of its fighting capabilities," the newspaper said.
"Under these circumstances, Taiwan can hold on for two weeks in the event of a war in the Taiwan Strait," the source added.
Yu Mao-chun, an expert on the PLA at at the US Naval Academy, dismissed the possibility of conflict soon. "I don't see any chance of war soon. But there are many political factors giving both sides the motive to raise tensions," Yu told reporters in Hong Kong.
He listed some problems in the PLA, including lack of consistency in its long-term mission and a need to streamline.
Military experts say China is accelerating its arms build-up in preparation for war, but the PLA still lacks sophisticated amphibious vessels to turn it into a credible invasion force.
Furthermore, the expectation is that Washington would meet its treaty obligations and come to Taiwan's rescue, either through diplomatic pressure on China, intelligence aid or actual combat assistance.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
RSS