Taiwan President Vows to Bolster Defense as China Steps up Military Threats – By Ralph Jennings (VOA News) / May 20 2020
TAIPEI, TAIWAN – Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen vowed Wednesday to step up defense following a series of bigger-than-normal threats by her government’s longtime rival China.
“While we work to bolster our defense capabilities, future combat capacity development will also emphasize mobility, countermeasures, and non-traditional, asymmetrical capabilities,” Tsai said in a speech to mark the start of her second term in office. She was reelected in January.
China maintains the world’s third strongest military and Taiwan ranks 26th by the database GlobalFirePower.com. Asymmetric warfare means use of strategy or unconventional arms, such as submarines, against an overall stronger enemy.
The People’s Liberation Army from Beijing is getting ready for amphibious military exercises in the South China Sea possibly to simulate the takeover of three tiny islets that Taiwan controls as part of a marine national park, analysts and media reports in Asia say. The islands sit in a strategic spot between northeast and southeast Asia. Taiwan’s coast guard has a garrison on one.
“If they want to seize the island they could encircle the island and force Taiwan to withdraw, without a fight,” said Alexander Huang, strategic studies professor at Tamkang University in Taiwan.
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