China’s military buildup in the southern portion of the first island chain poses a serious threat to Taiwan’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply, a defense analyst warned.
Writing in a bulletin on the National Defense and Security Research’s Web site on Thursday, Huang Tsung-ting (黃宗鼎) said that China might choke off Taiwan’s energy supply without it.
Beginning last year, China entrenched its position in the southern region of the first island chain, often with Russia’s active support, he said.
In May of the same year, a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) force consisting of a Type 054A destroyer, Type 055 destroyer, Type 052D destroyer and Type 0903 supply ship was spotted in the Sibutu Passage, a strategically important sea lane off Malaysia that links the Sulu Sea and Celebes Sea, he said.
In June of that year, a PLAN force consisting of a Type 071 amphibious transportation dock and three other warships were spotted in the waters southeast of Pilas Island in the Sulu Archipelago of the Philippines and north of Santa Cruz Island in the Basilan Strait, he said.
In July, Russia held the Ocean-2024 exercise in the South China Sea — a large strategic naval drill including more than 400 ships, submarines, support vessels and 120 naval aircraft — with China participating as a key partner, he said.
In October of that year, a PLAN carrier strike group with the aircraft carrier Liaoning as the centerpiece was spotted sailing in the direction of Indonesia’s Sulawesi island in the seas southeast of the Philippine island of Mindanao, Huang said.
One month later, China’s ally Russia held the Orruda-2024 bilateral naval exercise with Indonesia in Surabaya, Indonesia, and the adjacent Java Sea — with Russian Minister of Defence Andrey Belousov saying the exercise is designed to repel “large-scale aggression of a potential enemy.”
The events, coupled with the Chinese bases on Subi Reef (渚碧礁), Mischief Reef (Meiji Reef, 美濟礁) and Fiery Cross Reef (Yongshu Reef, 永暑礁) show that the PLAN is growing more advanced and capable of extending the range of its operations, Huang said.
They also showed that Beijing’s strategy is to penetrate through the Sulu Sea running from the South Luconia Shoals (南康暗沙), claimed by Taiwan, Malaysia and China, to the Philipines’ Balabac Strait and Leyte Gulf, he said.
Most importantly, they evidenced an intention to not only secure an alternative sea line of communication to the Malacca Strait, but to also threaten a line of communication on which Taiwan would depend during wartime for its energy supply, Huang said.
Disrupting Taiwanese LNG access would significantly undermine the nation’s resilience during a conflict, he said.
This means that China could harass or expel LNG carriers to strike at Taiwanese morale and the credibility of its government without having to blockade or isolate it entirely, Huang said.
The French-led multinational naval drills Exercise La Perouse and Exercise Pacific Steller, held from Jan. 16 to 24 and last month respectively, and involving nine nations — Australia, Canada, France, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the UK and the US — simulated pincer movements at the northern and southern end of the first island chain, he said.
These exercises, which involved carrier-type capital ships from the US, Japan and France, suggest the US and its allies are cognizant of the threat China’s advancements pose, he said.
Huang urged the government to monitor and respond to the developing situation in concert with friendly states including the US and Japan, while improving intelligence sharing with the Philippines.
Closer links with the Australian military are also needed for the nation to confront the new threat, he said.
An undersea cable to Penghu County has been severed, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said today, with a Chinese-funded ship suspected of being responsible. It comes just a month after a Chinese ship was suspected of severing an undersea cable north of Keelung Harbor. The National Communications and Cyber Security Center received a report at 3:03am today from Chunghwa Telecom that the No. 3 cable from Taiwan to Penghu was severed 14.7km off the coast of Tainan, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) upon receiving a report from Chunghwa Telecom began to monitor the Togolese-flagged Hong Tai (宏泰)
EVA Air is prohibiting the use of portable chargers on board all flights starting from Saturday, while China Airlines is advising passengers not to use them, following the lead of South Korean airlines. Current regulations prohibit portable chargers and lithium batteries from check-in luggage and require them to be properly packed in carry-on baggage, EVA Air said. To improve onboard safety, portable chargers and spare lithium batteries would be prohibited from use on all fights starting on Saturday, it said. Passengers are advised to fully charge electronic devices before boarding and use the AC and USB charging outlets at their seat, it said. South
WAR SIMULATION: The developers of the board game ‘2045’ consulted experts and analysts, and made maps based on real-life Chinese People’s Liberation Army exercises To stop invading Chinese forces seizing Taiwan, board gamer Ruth Zhong chooses the nuclear option: Dropping an atomic bomb on Taipei to secure the nation’s freedom and her victory. The Taiwanese board game 2045 is a zero-sum contest of military strategy and individual self-interest that puts players on the front lines of a simulated Chinese attack. Their battlefield game tactics would determine the theoretical future of Taiwan, which in the real world faces the constant threat of a Chinese invasion. “The most interesting part of this game is that you have to make continuous decisions based on the evolving situation,
Actor Lee Wei (李威) was released on bail on Monday after being named as a suspect in the death of a woman whose body was found in the meeting place of a Buddhist group in Taipei’s Daan District (大安) last year, prosecutors said. Lee, 44, was released on NT$300,000 (US$9,148) bail, while his wife, surnamed Chien (簡), was released on NT$150,000 bail after both were summoned to give statements regarding the woman’s death. The home of Lee, who has retreated from the entertainment business in the past few years, was also searched by prosecutors and police earlier on Monday. Lee was questioned three
RSS