Taiwan to increase military spending amid potential ‘total blockade’ by China

defense spending Taiwan this year will focus on prepare weapons and equipment for a possible “total blockade” by Chinaincluding parts for F-16 fighters and weapon replacements, according to the Taiwanese military.

China, which considers Taiwan part of its territory, held military drills around the island in August, firing missiles over Taipei and declaring no-fly and no-sea zones in a mock attempt to isolate Taiwan in a war.

In a document requesting approval of the parliamentary budget, of which he had access to a copy Reuters On Monday, Taiwan’s defense ministry said it began reviewing its strategic fuel reserves and repair capabilities last year, but gave no details.

In “anticipation of a total blockade of the Taiwan Strait,” spending this year would include replenishing artillery and rocket stocks, as well as parts for F-16 fighters “to bolster combat continuity.”said the ministry.

In an update to its Chinese threat assessment, the Taiwanese ministry said the Chinese military is carrying out joint operations to control strategic choke points and deny access to foreign forces.

“Recently, the communist army’s exercise and training model has been adjusted from a single military type to joint operations of land, sea, air and rocket forces,” reads the document, released before the minister. of Defense Chiu Kuo.-cheng, will take questions from Taiwanese parliamentarians on Wednesday.

“It takes a real warfare approach and moves from training to combat readiness.”

China’s Taiwan Affairs Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

China has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control. Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Monday that China must modernize its military into a “great wall of steel”.

Xi also said that when it comes to Taiwan, China should oppose separatist and secessionist activities and interference from outside forces.

Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense said that China has systematically increased the strength of its “joint combat readiness” actions around Taiwan.

Last year, the Chinese military’s Eastern Theater Command sent more than 1,700 aircraft to Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zone. The figure is more than double that of the previous year and poses a “substantial threat” to Taiwan’s defense, according to the ministry.

China has “normalized” no-navigation zones around the Bohai Sea, Yellow Sea and Taiwan Strait, the ministry added.

China hopes to refine its capabilities to fight on the “second chain of islands”which includes an area from Japan to the Pacific islands, to “smother and control” the Bashi Channel, the Miyako Strait and the Tsushima Strait, he said, three crucial waterways to access the seas of the Pacific and eastern China.

Taiwan’s ministry said China has also continued to use “grey area” tactics to test Taiwan’s response, including sending drones, balloons and fishing boats to areas near Taiwan.

The department also said it will include in this year’s budget priority funding for US-made weapons, including Stinger anti-aircraft missiles and M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) mobile rocket launchers.

(With information from Reuters / Reporting by Yimou Lee and Ben Blanchard)

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