Could the PLA use minelaying drones in a first island chain blockade over Taiwan?
Japan’s islands and the waters of the Philippines could be targeted in a cross-strait operation, according to military magazine
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The article said there would be “no need to deploy naval mines around the island of Taiwan” in a cross-strait operation as some US think tanks have suggested.
Instead, it said the PLA was “fully capable of rapidly establishing a comprehensive blockade” of the surrounding waters and airspace using firepower interception, naval and airpower.
That would include using land-based missiles, aircraft, submarines and aircraft carrier strike groups to isolate Taiwan.
The analysis suggested the PLA could also lay naval mines to blockade key maritime corridors, ports, shipping lanes and coastal areas along the first island chain that is controlled by US allies and stretches from Japan down to the Philippines.
The aim would be to impede mobility and stop supplies reaching Taiwan from “interfering forces” – namely the US and Japan.