Taiwan Think Tank: "China to Deploy 100,000 Troops if Invading Taiwan"

Taiwan National Defense and Security Research Institute (INDSR) Report

A Taiwanese think tank has projected that China would deploy 100,000 troops in an amphibious assault if it invades Taiwan.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

According to local Taiwanese media on the 8th, the Institute for National Defense and Security Research (INDSR), a think tank under Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense, released the "2023 Assessment Report on the Development of the Chinese Communist Armed Forces" on the 3rd, which included this information.

According to the report, China is expected to deploy approximately 52,000 troops in the initial amphibious assault, including about 12,000 personnel from aviation brigades and airborne assault brigades, about 24,000 from the naval landing fleet, and about 16,000 from army amphibious combined brigades, along with approximately 1,300 helicopters and amphibious armored vehicles from the Marine Corps.

Ou Xifu, director of the Chinese Political-Military Operations Concept Research Institute, anticipated in the report that the Chinese military's landing force could reach 100,000 troops but also predicted that the Chinese forces would face significant risks. He noted that the Taiwan Strait is over 100 km wide, the Chinese military lacks practical experience in amphibious operations, and Taiwan's deployment of asymmetric forces such as anti-ship and air defense missiles could disrupt China's plans.

Ou also forecasted that even if the Chinese military lands on the beaches, they would soon encounter mountainous areas, hills, and villages, making the movement of large mechanized units difficult.

However, he projected that if China decides to land on Taiwan, it would first paralyze Taiwan's command and control systems through airstrikes and missile attacks.

Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense stated that if a war breaks out between the two sides, all parts of Taiwan would become battlefields, eliminating the distinction between front and rear lines. It further explained that conscripts serving one year would mainly serve in defensive units, and together with military officers, they would be responsible for homeland defense, support operations, and protection of key military and civilian facilities.

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