China does not seem to be pursuing the amphibious lift capacity that would be necessary for a large-scale invasion of Taiwan, a report presented to US Congress said.
At the same time, China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) ground forces continue to prepare for a Taiwan-related contingency, the report said.
Prepared by the Congressional Research Service and titled The Chinese Military: Overview and Issues for Congress, the report was written by Asian affairs analyst Ian Rinehart and released this week.
It said that PLA ground forces have armed attack helicopters and other modern platforms, improved networks that enable real-time data transmission.
It is also continuing to improve its advanced air defense systems and practicing more realistic training exercises, including amphibious landing training, the report said.
“On the other hand, PLA weaknesses in areas like logistics and amphibious lift could render the PLA unable to carry out assigned missions, in particular an invasion of Taiwan,” it said.
“Both air lift and sea lift capacity remain major shortcomings for the PLA, constraining significantly its ability to carry out large-scale power projection operations,” it added.
The report said that over the past two decades, the main focus of the PLA’s military planning and short-term operational readiness has been a potential conflict over Taiwan.
Such planning might also be designed to deter Taiwan from declaring independence, the report said.
According to the report, an invasion of Taiwan would be a “daunting undertaking” for China.
“The potential intervention of the US to defend Taiwan would present enormous challenges for the PLA,” it said.
Rinehart said that China is building a modern and regionally powerful military with a limited, but growing capability for conducting operations away from China’s immediate periphery.
“The question of how the US should respond to China’s military modernization effort is a central issue in US defense planning and foreign policy,” he said.
Rinehart said that many American China-watchers assert that China’s main reason for strengthening the PLA is to ensure the status of Taiwan is resolved on terms favorable to Beijing.
He said that Pentagon and other analysts argue that China’s military modernization was explicitly designed to keep the US military from sending reinforcements to a conflict by controlling access to naval approach routes through a variety of stand-off attacks.
“The PRC does not consider its desire to unify with Taiwan and to consolidate control over islands in the South China Sea as strategically offensive, whereas many in the US and other countries see such ambitions as inherently offensive,” Rinehart said.
CAUTION: Based on intelligence from the nation’s security agencies, MOFA has cautioned Taiwanese travelers about heightened safety risks in China-friendly countries The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday urged Taiwanese to be aware of their safety when traveling abroad, especially in countries that are friendly to China. China in June last year issued 22 guidelines that allow its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death so-called “diehard” Taiwanese independence activists, even though Chinese courts have no jurisdiction in Taiwan. Late last month, a senior Chinese official gave closed-door instructions to state security units to implement the guidelines in countries friendly to China, a government memo and a senior Taiwan security official said, based on information gathered by Taiwan’s intelligence agency. The
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said yesterday that it is looking to hire 8,000 people this year, at a time when the tech giant is expanding production capacity to maintain its lead over competitors. To attract talent, TSMC would launch a large-scale recruitment campaign on campuses across Taiwan, where a newly recruited engineer with a master’s degree could expect to receive an average salary of NT$2.2 million (US$60,912), which is much higher than the 2023 national average of NT$709,000 for those in the same category, according to government statistics. TSMC, which accounted for more than 60 percent
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday that it will revoke the dependent-based residence permit of a Chinese social media influencer who reportedly “openly advocated for [China’s] unification through military force” with Taiwan. The Chinese national, identified by her surname Liu (劉), will have her residence permit revoked in accordance with Article 14 of the “Measures for the permission of family- based residence, long-term residence and settlement of people from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area,” the NIA said in a news release. The agency explained it received reports that Liu made “unifying Taiwan through military force” statements on her online
Tung Tzu-hsien (童子賢), a Taiwanese businessman and deputy convener of the nation’s National Climate Change Committee, said yesterday that “electrical power is national power” and nuclear energy is “very important to Taiwan.” Tung made the remarks, suggesting that his views do not align with the country’s current official policy of phasing out nuclear energy, at a forum organized by the Taiwan People’s Party titled “Challenges and Prospects of Taiwan’s AI Industry and Energy Policy.” “Taiwan is currently pursuing industries with high added- value and is developing vigorously, and this all requires electricity,” said the chairman
RSS