Taipei [Taiwan], December 17: Taiwan's defense ministry asserted that the territory's defense forces could quickly respond to any surprise attack from China, according to Kyodo News on December 16.
The Chinese military operates around Taiwan almost daily. Taipei considers this to be part of a " gray zone " operation, a campaign of harassment and pressure that, while not leading to actual conflict, is designed to weaken Taiwan's armed forces by keeping them on constant alert.
In a recent report to Taiwanese lawmakers, Taiwan's Defense Ministry assessed that the frequency and scale of Chinese military activities around the territory have increased annually, including regular "joint combat readiness patrols."
According to Taiwan's Ministry of Defense, China is also continuously practicing how to attack Taiwan, deploying warships further out into the Pacific Ocean, towards Australia and New Zealand.
Taiwan's Ministry of Defense emphasized that the territory's defense forces have standard operating procedures on how to raise combat alert levels should Chinese military exercises escalate "from drills to war."
"If the enemy launches a surprise attack, all units will have to take control of their dispersed positions without waiting for orders, and carry out their combat missions under a 'decentralized' command regime," the report stated, but did not elaborate.
Taiwan's Defense Minister, Ku Li-hung, is expected to answer questions from lawmakers regarding the report on December 17.
There is currently no information on China's reaction to the new report from Taiwan's Ministry of Defense.
On December 15, China's Ministry of Defense accused Taiwanese leader Lai Ching-te of exaggerating the threat from China and sowing fears of war, according to Kyodo News.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper
