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.
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
‘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
Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) yesterday appealed to the authorities to release former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) from pretrial detention amid conflicting reports about his health. The TPP at a news conference on Thursday said that Ko should be released to a hospital for treatment, adding that he has blood in his urine and had spells of pain and nausea followed by vomiting over the past three months. Hsieh Yen-yau (謝炎堯), a retired professor of internal medicine and Ko’s former teacher, said that Ko’s symptoms aligned with gallstones, kidney inflammation and potentially dangerous heart conditions. Ko, charged with
RSS