Taiwan is preparing for a Chinese attack
A senior official says Taiwan is stockpiling vital supplies to prepare for a possible blockade of mainland China, or in the event of a conflict; Deputy Economy Minister Chen Chern Chi said the island nation needed to keep reasonable stores of critical supplies.
The Taiwanese official added: “In connection with a possible military conflict, we have made preparations for food, energy and vital supplies, including manufacturing supplies… We’ve a system, and we do an inventory every month”.
“We want to make sure we have stocks covering a certain period in Taiwan, including food, basic supplies, minerals, chemicals and energy of course”.
China views democratically governed Taiwan as its territory, and has intensified political and military pressure to assert its sovereignty claims.
Taiwan has come under pressure from Beijing’s military exercises around the island since President Tsai took office in 2016 and refused to accept the one China policy.
Beijing has since suspended diplomatic contacts between the two sides.
While the Chinese military conducted live-fire exercises around Taiwan and fired ballistic missiles over the island after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taipei in August; which Beijing considers a violation of its sovereignty.
Taiwan’s deputy economy minister said stockpiling of key supplies has slowed in the past two years due to the epidemic, but has come back up again in recent months.
He didn’t reveal how much reserves would be needed for Taiwan to survive a siege or attack from Beijing, while a senior Taiwanese minister said on Friday that Taiwan expects China to increase “coercion and intimidation” to achieve its goal of bringing the island under its control once the president takes office for third presidential term.
Chairman of the Taiwan Mainland Affairs Council, Chiu Tai-san, said: “We believe that the work of the Beijing authorities on Taiwan has entered the stage of strengthening the practice of the so-called anti-independence and promoting reunification.
It will use coercion, intimidation, gray area activities, and international law to interfere with and obstruct Taiwan’s interaction and cooperation with the international community to achieve its goals toward Taiwan”.
The gray area is a term in international relations that describes the space between war and peace.
Despite strained political relations, Taiwan trades heavily with China.
“China is our largest trading partner – and that is a fact,” Chen said.
It is the largest manufacturing site and the largest trading country in the world, and these are facts as well”.
He added: “With these facts, I don’t see frankly that we can completely separate from China in the short term… This isn’t realistic”.
