Terrorist activities likely before China invasion: retired Japanese officer
Jun 16, 2024
Taipei [Taiwan], June 16 : Retired Japanese Lieutenant General Hirotaka Yamashita, speculated that ahead of a potential Chinese military invasion of Taiwan, terrorist activities including attempts to assassinate Taiwan's president could occur, Focus Taiwan reported citing CNA.
Speaking at a press event in Taipei on Saturday for the launch of the Chinese-language version of his book on potential Chinese invasion strategies.
Yamashita outlined that such terrorist activities might involve planting bombs on presidential vehicles and at major metro stations in Taipei. Yamashita, who previously served as the vice chief of staff of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force, based his predictions on various tabletop wargames detailed in his book, as per Focus Taiwan.
Drawing on Japan-North Korea relations, Yamashita said three types of people could carry out attacks in Taiwan: people politically aligned with China, mercenaries, and Chinese who seem to have assimilated with Taiwanese but who secretly engage in spying.
Although precautions should be taken to prepare for these potential scenarios, neither Taiwan, Japan nor the United States would be able to entirely eliminate the possibility, Yamashita said.
According to Focus Taiwan, Yamashita stated that these terrorist activities would aim to undermine the Taiwanese public's faith in their government and influence public opinion.
He advised the government to provide factual and up-to-date information and urged the public to trust the government during such crises, despite political differences.
In his book, Yamashita projected that a possible Chinese invasion of Taiwan could occur between 2035 and 2050.
By then, Yamashita argued, China's nuclear arsenal would likely rival that of the US, and the gap in nuclear deterrence between the two countries would likely have been eliminated.
Until then, China is resigned to adopting a "peaceful reunification" stance on Taiwan, he believed.
Taiwan, officially known as the Republic of China, has long been a contentious issue in China's foreign policy. China continues to assert its sovereignty over Taiwan and considers it a part of its territory and insists on eventual reunification, by force if necessary.
