The Diplomat | How can Taiwan ensure its defence strategy evolves in time to counter China’s growing military pressure? Over the course of a year-long study, HCSS researchers Benedetta Girardi, Davis Ellison, and Tim Sweijs analysed the campaign in Ukraine, comparing it with Taiwan’s military strategies and defence posture.
China’s coercive campaign against Taiwan has escalated in recent years. Beijing’s approach has evolved from putting political and economic pressure on the island’s leadership and now includes expansive military exercises considered by many to be rehearsals for forced unification. It has sparked debate amongst political and military experts about what form such forced unification could take: Will the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) services seek to strangle the island’s economy through a semi-permanent blockade? Will they boil the frog over time through an on-and-off blockade? Or will they land a knock-out punch in a Sea Land Invasion?
If one thing is certain, it’s this: Beijing’s calculation will be shaped by whether Taiwan is ready to defend itself. For Taiwan to do so successfully, it will have to learn lessons from the war against Ukraine, a country that failed to deter an attack from a much more powerful neighbor, yet has been able to successfully defend itself since.
Source: The Diplomat | March 18, 2025, by Benedetta Girardi, Davis Ellison, and Tim Sweijs
Photo credit: Office of the President, ROC (Taiwan)
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