Taiwan’s military said on Wednesday (April 27th) it was closely watching the war in Ukraine, and learning lessons from the Russian invasion ahead of its annual military exercise to be held in July, during which the island simulates its defense against a potential Chinese attack.
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“The Ministry of Defense closely follows, studies and analyzes the war between Russia and Ukraine as well as the movements of the communist armyMajor General Lin Wen-huang told reporters, referring to the mainland Chinese military. “We will learn lessons from the Russian-Ukrainian war to continue improving our capabilities in asymmetric warfare, cognitive warfare, electronic warfare and reserve force“, he added, when announcing the holding in July of the traditional military exercises “Han Kuang» («Glory of Han“).
Strengthen attack capabilities at sea
The island’s 23 million inhabitants live under the constant threat of invasion by China, which sees the democratic island as part of its territory to be taken back one day, by force if necessary. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has heightened fears on the Taiwanese side that Beijing will follow through on its annexation threats. According to the Ministry of Defence,Han Kuang“will notably simulate”all possible actions (from China) to invade Taiwan“. One of its objectives is to strengthen attack capabilities at sea.
Taiwan and mainland China are separated by the Taiwan Strait, a narrow waterway that Beijing claims as its own. China often reacts angrily to foreign ships passing through the strait. She got carried away on Wednesday against the passage, the day before, of the American destroyer USS Sampson. Colonel Shi Yi, spokesman for the Chinese military’s Eastern Operation Area, accused Washington of “to send the wrong signals to Taiwan independence forces and deliberately undermine the peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait“.
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Beijing has intensified its pressure on Taiwan since President Tsai Ing-wen came to power in 2016, considering the island to be an already sovereign nation and not part of “one china“. Last year, Taiwan recorded 969 incursions by Chinese warplanes into its air defense zone, according to a database compiled by AFP — more than double the roughly 380 recorded in 2020.