Taiwan looks to Ukraine invasion for battle strategy tips against PLA
- Military strategists on the self-ruled island are keen to see what lessons can be applied to its defence
- The Taiwan Strait offers a natural barrier between it and mainland China, unlike Ukraine’s long land border with Russia
While Taipei has not reported any unusual military activity by the People’s Liberation Army, it has raised the alert level on the island, which Beijing claims as its own territory, to be returned by force, if necessary.
Russia’s use of precision missiles, as well as Ukraine’s tactical resistance despite being outmanned and outgunned, is being carefully studied by military strategists in Taiwan, whose own forces are similarly dwarfed by the mainland.
Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen has championed the idea of “asymmetric warfare”, to make the island’s forces more mobile and hard to attack, with for example vehicle-mounted missiles.
Ma Cheng-Kun, director of the Graduate Institute of China Military Affairs Studies at Taiwan’s National Defence University, said Ukraine had used the same concept with mobile weapons to stymie Russian forces.
“Ukraine’s military has been making full use of asymmetric warfare very effectively, and so far successfully holding off Russia’s advance,” said Ma, a government adviser on China policy.