A French journalist was awarded a prize on Wednesday for his reporting on Taiwan’s military preparedness and geopolitical situation, concluding that citizens must be more united and prepared for a conflict.
Cyrille Pluyette, deputy editor of L’Express, was awarded Le Prix de la presse diplomatique for his June 4 piece titled “If Xi Jinping (習近平) decides to attack ... can Taiwan resist an invasion?”
At the time of Pluyette’s visit to Taiwan, China was increasing its incursions into the nation’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ) following President William Lai’s (賴清德) May 20 inauguration.
Photo: Chiang Ying-ying, AP
His report had three chapters. The first looks at the increasingly frequent incursions, the second at the strategic realities of how an invasion could occur, and the third at how prepared Taiwan and its allies are.
In the first chapter, Pluyette visits the Hsinchu Air Base, where he sees how personnel react to the incursions.
Last year, 1,700 Chinese military aircraft entered Taiwan’s ADIZ, an increase of 76 percent in two years, he wrote.
He refers to Xi’s goal of taking Taiwan as an “obsession” and says the incursions are a way to wear down Taiwanese morale in the face of increasing pressure.
In chapter two, Pluyette analyzes potential Chinese strategies for an invasion and how Taiwan could withstand it.
In the piece, he quoted Tzeng Yi-suo (曾怡碩), an associate research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research (INDSR), as saying the worst-case scenario would be a blockade cutting Taiwan off from the imports it relies on.
Taiwan would find it very difficult to respond to a siege without escalating to war, although China would also face Western sanctions for a blockade, Tzeng said.
Pluyette also wrote on the potential for an amphibious assault and cyberattack, but concludes that Taiwan has the potential to defend itself by taking advantage of the main island’s difficult terrain and weapons like anti-ship missiles, drones and mines.
The article’s third chapter is about Taiwan’s military preparedness, with Pluyette looking at the country’s defense budget and lengthening the duration of military service.
In the piece, retired admiral Lee Hsi-ming (李喜明) and INDSR researcher Hsu Chih-hsiang (許智翔) agree that Taiwan is not yet prepared for a conflict with China.
Pluyette cites Lee taking inspiration from Ukraine about how a smaller nation can use asymmetric defense to deter a larger opponent, with Lee saying that Taiwan should use its defense budget on mobile weapons systems instead of large conventional arms.
Pluyette cites Enoch Wu (吳怡農), the founder of the Forward Alliance, a Taiwanese non-governmental organization, as saying that the decisive element in a conflict would be the ability of citizens to resist, similar to Ukraine, and that all of society must contribute to the war effort.
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