TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwan is strengthening its ability to move troops swiftly in case China suddenly turns one of its frequent drills around the island into an attack, Defence Minister Wellington Koo said on Wednesday, amid a heightened military threat from Beijing.
A five-day “rapid response exercise” began on Monday to train the forces of democratically-governed Taiwan to quickly mobilise against any attack by China or grey-zone harassment designed to test and exhaust Taiwan’s armed forces.
The start of the exercise coincided with China’s dispatch of 59 military planes and other warships to areas near Taiwan on the grounds that it was “punishment” for Taiwan President Lai Ching-te’s continued promotion of “separatism”.
“For the People’s Liberation Army, turning drills into an attack doesn’t take as much time as we imagined in the past,” Koo told parliament in answer to lawmakers’ questions.
“(We) must be able to gather crucial signs of alerts and prepare for the worst from the enemy.”
The ministry’s rapid-response exercise would be based on its intelligence and threat assessments, Koo added.
“Without such vigilance, if something really happens, (we) will not be ready for combat.”
In the drills, troops set up anti-landing barriers near a key port just outside Taiwan’s capital of Taipei, and deployed surface-to-air missile systems at strategic sites, video from the defence ministry showed.
Taiwan’s security officials have said China was trying to normalise drills near Taiwan, carying out what it calls “joint combat readiness patrols” using warplanes and navy vessels every seven to 10 days on average.
China, which claims Taiwan as its own territory and has never renounced the use of force to bring the island under its control, has stepped up military and political pressure on Taiwan in recent years.
Taiwan strongly objects to China’s sovereignty claims, saying only its people can decide their future.
(Reporting by Yimou Lee and Roger Tung; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
