Taiwan Ministry of National Defense: "China May Blockade Taiwan's Major Ports and Airports"

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense emphasized that China is employing a strategy to isolate and force Taiwan to surrender by blockading Taiwan's major ports and airports, and that Taiwan will defend itself against China's offensive. This comes amid escalating military tensions between the U.S. and China across the Taiwan Strait, interpreted as a move to strengthen support and defense commitments from the U.S. and other Western countries.

According to Taiwan's Liberty Times on the 9th, the Ministry of National Defense stated in its defense report, "Currently, the Chinese Communist Party poses a dangerous situation where it can blockade Taiwan's major ports and airports. China is attempting to isolate the entire island and break its will to resist through this tactic." It warned, "If the Chinese Communist Party carries out a joint blockade operation along the entire coastline of Taiwan, Taiwan's air and maritime trade routes will be completely cut off, which could have a significant impact on the flow of military supplies and logistics resources."

The Ministry of National Defense pointed out in the report that "China's military provocations against Taiwan are exemplified by the large-scale deployment of military aircraft invading Taiwan's Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ)." It noted, "In October alone, 148 military aircraft were deployed to invade the ADIZ, and China is using a combination of cyber operations, psychological warfare, and information warfare to exert military threats."

The release of this report by Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense is seen as an effort to secure more support from Western countries amid the recent intensification of military confrontation between the U.S. and China over the Taiwan Strait and the European Union (EU) parliamentarians' first visit to Taiwan, signaling the EU's intention to intervene in the Taiwan issue. Earlier, on the 3rd, seven EU parliament members led by Rafael Glucksmann visited Taiwan, expressing strong support by stating "Taiwan is not alone" and pledging to form a "democracy alliance" against China.

In the U.S., a bipartisan resolution to strengthen relations with Taiwan has been submitted to the Senate. According to the political media outlet The Hill on the 4th, six Republican senators, including James Risch, Marco Rubio, and Mitt Romney, who are members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, jointly submitted the "Taiwan War Deterrence Act" resolution to the Senate, which proposes providing Taiwan with $2 billion (approximately 2.37 trillion KRW) in military aid annually through 2032.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.