Security experts recommend Taiwan to bolster eastern defenses amid Chinese aggression
May 09, 2022
Taipei [Taiwan], May 9 : Amid Chinese aggression, the security experts have recommended Taiwan to beef up its eastern defenses.
Scholars said that the recent Chinese navy activity near Taiwan's east coast poses a significant threat, reported Taiwan News.
Chen Wen-chia, an associate professor at National Chengchi University's College of International Affairs, said the recent appearance of the Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning and aircraft near eastern Taiwan was a direct challenge to Taiwan, the US and Japan's Indo-Pacific strategy, the Liberty Times reported.
The manoeuvre was a demonstration of China's "warfare management" in anti-access and area-denial capabilities, Chen said.
Shu Hsiao-huang, an analyst at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said that Taiwan's Air Force pilots often practice flying from western airbases to eastern ones to preserve combat power, but in the future Chinese PLAAF H-6 bombers may launch cruise missiles to attack eastern facilities, reported Taiwan News.
"Chinese naval ships will also pose an air threat in Taiwan's east, so it is essential for the nation to enhance its air defense capabilities and have additional runways," he said.
In the future, Taiwan's newly-purchased F-16Vs should strengthen anti-ship defenses, Shu said.
Additionally, if forthcoming Taiwanese submarines can be deployed off the eastern coast, it would bolster the nation's long-range combat capabilities, reported Taiwan News.
In response to the threat of the Chinese military in eastern Taiwan, the Ministry of National Defense has deployed Sky Bow III missiles, which have a maximum range of 200 kilometres.
All F-16V fighter jets will be deployed at Taitung's Chihang Base and a portion of Taiwan's Hsiung Feng III and Harpoon missiles will also be moved to the east, as per the Liberty Times.
earlier, Taiwan on Friday reported that 18 Chinese military aircraft entered its air defense identification zone (ADIZ).
The highest number of intrusions on a single day in 2022 so far occurred on January 23, when the military spotted 39 People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) aircraft.
Beijing claims full sovereignty over Taiwan, a democracy of almost 24 million people located off the southeastern coast of mainland China, despite the fact that the two sides have been governed separately for more than seven decades.
Taipei, on the other hand, has countered the Chinese aggression by increasing strategic ties with democracies including the US, which has been repeatedly opposed by Beijing. China has threatened that "Taiwan's independence" means war.
