PLA drills near Taiwan may turn into full-scale attack, island’s defence ministry warns

Name: Taiwan denounces mainland China for ‘over the top’ flights into island’s air defence zone
Uploaded: 2021-12-13T10:59:30.000Z
Description: Taiwan denounces mainland China for ‘over the top’ flights into island’s air defence zone

Taiwan’s defence ministry report presents possible scenarios in all-out PLA assault, citing ‘Beijing’s goal to invade by 2025’

Ministry studying PLA tactics for years and has ‘full control over the strength and the weakness of their approaches’, deputy defence chief says

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Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen waves at a US-made fighter plane as Defence Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng looks on, at the Chiayi Air Base in southern Taiwan on November 18. Photo: AFP

Lawrence Chung

Published: 6:59pm, 13 Dec 2021Updated: 7:43pm, 13 Dec 2021

Mainland China may stage a surprise attack on Taiwan by turning its joint drills close to the self-ruled island into full-scale combat operations, the defence ministry in Taipei has warned.

Such a move would be in keeping with Beijing’s goal to invade Taiwan by 2025, according to a ministry report submitted to the Taiwanese legislature.

The report said the mainland Chinese People’s Liberation Army was likely to use multipronged approaches to launch a full-blown attack, including joint strikes and landing operations, to seize Taiwan in the shortest time with minimal losses.

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Taiwan denounces mainland China for ‘over the top’ flights into island’s air defence zone

The report, which was worked out in line with Defence Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng’s assumption in October that the PLA would have the ability to mount a full-scale invasion by 2025, urges the legislature to support weapons procurements to counter such aggression.

The PLA might first use the pretext of staging joint war games involving its air force, navy and army on the east and south coasts of mainland China near Taiwan, to step up the intimidation factor for the Taiwanese public, the ministry said in its report.

“It will then send various kinds of its warships to the Western Pacific Ocean as a means to repel any foreign forces coming to Taiwan’s aid, and to impose strategic encirclement to discourage foreign forces from coming to help.”

The PLA would then turn its war games into real combat operations, which would include firing ballistic and cruise missiles at various Taiwanese air defence positions, radar stations and command centres, the report said.

The mainland army’s strategic support force would also launch electromagnetic suppression operations targeting combat troop movements and important Taiwanese military facilities.