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FIRST ON FOX: Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense said China has been conducting training missions in the western Pacific aimed at limiting U.S. and allied military access. The exercises reflect Beijing’s effort to expand its anti-access/area-denial, or A2/AD, capabilities — a strategy meant to keep opposing forces from entering or operating freely in nearby regions.
The military spokesman for Taiwan — officially known as the Republic of China (ROC) — Lt. Gen. Sun Li-fang, told Fox News Digital in exclusive comments that the armed forces of the independently governed island fully understand the threats posed by China’s expanding military might.
Sun said Taiwan has prepared a series of responses if the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) provocations escalate into acts of war and has detailed plans to counter and survive a potential Chinese naval blockade.
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Soldiers pose for group photos with a Taiwan flag after a preparedness enhancement drill simulating the defense against Beijing’s military intrusions, ahead of the Lunar New Year in Kaohsiung City, Taiwan on Jan. 11, 2023. (Daniel Ceng/AP Photo)
Taiwan’s military is on alert for the possibility that Communist China could turn “training” or an exercise into an actual war. Some analysts warn that a Chinese blockade would be difficult to break, but Sun said Taiwan has “holistic plans to breach [any] blockade.” He added that Taipei would “urge its allies and like-minded partners to treat any blockade as an act of war that should trigger a coordinated international response,” noting that shipping disruptions in the seas near Taiwan would have serious effects on the global economy.
Sun said Taiwan expects the PLA to continue its campaign of “hybrid warfare” or “gray-zone operations,” a mix of nonmilitary and paramilitary actions designed to pressure and harass Taiwan without formally declaring war. He warned that the PLA seeks to “exhaust [Taiwan’s] defense capability and blur the battlespace.”
FILE: In this undated file photo released by the Taiwan Ministry of Defense, a Chinese PLA J-16 fighter jet flies in an undisclosed location. (Taiwan Ministry of Defense via AP)
An example of this can be seen in the near-daily incursions by Chinese warplanes into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone, resulting in Taiwanese air force jets scrambling to intercept them. The tactic, analysts say, is deliberate — part of a broader effort to wear down Taiwan’s air force, degrade equipment and exhaust Taiwan’s personnel.
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Beijing has never ruled Taiwan for even a single day, and Taiwan’s military insists it will not allow China to dictate the rules of any future conflict. Instead, the island democracy is prioritizing the development of asymmetric warfare, a strategy in which, as Sun put it, “the weaker party strikes at the weak point of the stronger party with appropriate tactics and weapons in order to gain advantages on the battlefield and change the outcome of the war.”
The spokesperson for the Taiwanese military, Lt. Gen. Sun Li-fang addresses the media. (Taiwanese Armed Forces)
The general said Taiwan’s top priorities are to build asymmetric capabilities, strengthen operational resilience, expand reserve force capacity and improve defenses against gray-zone harassment. To achieve these goals, he said, Taiwan is expanding production and deployment of unmanned and AI-driven systems while dispersing command-and-control networks to make a knockout punch much more difficult. He also noted that Taiwan’s surveillance and reconnaissance units are “vigilant” and that they “exchange intelligence and perspectives on PLA activities with our allies and partners.”
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Sun also rejected the idea that Taiwan lacks the will to defend itself and believes people here would strongly resist any attempt by the PRC to take Taiwan by force. Taiwan’s military wants the world to know it is committed to its own defense, Sun said, pointing to the proposed 2026 defense budget, which will exceed 3% of GDP. Furthermore, he said, the government is actively pursuing reforms to make training “as realistic as possible,” is expanding reserve forces, and has already extended mandatory military service to one year.
Chinese military helicopters fly past Pingtan island, one of mainland China’s closest points to Taiwan, in Fujian province on Aug. 4, 2022, ahead of massive military drills off Taiwan following US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to the self-ruled island. – China’s largest-ever military exercises encircling Taiwan kicked off on Aug. 4, in a show of force straddling vital international shipping lanes after a visit to the island by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. (Hector Retamal /AFP via Getty Images)
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Taiwan’s government is stressing that an attack or blockade by Beijing would not just be a local confrontation but a global crisis. Government and military leaders of democratic Taiwan hope their statements and actions will convince China —and the world —that Taiwan will fight back with everything it’s got.