TAIPEI (Reuters) -China is rising the frequency of its navy actions round Taiwan and growing new tools to hone its capacity to stage a shock assault, the island’s defence ministry mentioned on Thursday.
Democratically-governed Taiwan, which China views as its personal territory, has confronted elevated navy stress from Beijing over the previous 5 years, together with not less than six rounds of main warfare video games across the island since 2022.
China has been utilizing synthetic intelligence instruments to weaken Taiwan’s cybersecurity and to scan for weak factors in important infrastructure, the defence ministry mentioned in a report launched each two years.
Beijing can also be utilizing “hybrid warfare” to weaken individuals’s belief within the authorities and help for defence spending, and stepping up “gray zone” harassment, it added, referring to non-combat operations comparable to coast guard patrols designed to stress Taiwan.
“Via each standard and unconventional navy actions, it goals to check its capabilities for attacking Taiwan and confronting international forces,” the ministry mentioned.
China may attempt to abruptly shift drills into lively fight mode to catch Taiwan and its worldwide supporters off guard, posing a major menace to regional peace and safety, it added.
In recent times, China has been extensively utilizing civilian roll-on/roll-off service provider vessels for navy transport operations and continues to develop specialised tools for seashore touchdown operations, the ministry mentioned.
China’s defence ministry didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
China considers Taiwan President Lai Ching-te a “separatist”. Lai rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims, saying solely the island’s individuals can determine their future.
(Reporting by Yimou Lee and Ben Blanchard; Modifying by Himani Sarkar)
