Violence and atrocities : warfare

Wednesday, November 9, 2022

Fresh row erupts between China and Taiwan over visit of Greg Hands, British Trade Policy Minister to Taiwan

There are indications that China has plans to make use of the massive civilian maritime fleet it has in order to transport military equipment to seize Taiwan. This appears to be the result of the visit of Greg Hands, the British Trade Policy Minister, to Taiwan. Photos in the social media reveal a massive military convoy of trucks, main battle tanks (MBT), and armored fighting vehicles (AFV) at civilian ports. These are moving in between passenger ships and car carriers. Chinese defense enthusiasts claim the design of the concept has a Taiwan operation in mind. China has its own fleet of roll-on-roll-over (RoRo) ships and dedicated car carriers. These can double up as amphibious transport vessels when required. In short, China wants to assert its claims over Taiwan and use every possible means. Photos in the media do not identify the port and the date of the military exercises. China had conducted such exercises in the past. Civilian Ship Armed With Tanks — Scary Images Reveal China’s ‘Notorious Plan’ To Invade & Annex Taiwan.

It seems, the civilian fleet can be commandeered under China’s January 2017 National Defense Transportation Law, which treats basic infrastructure and transport systems as “civil-military fusion assets”. This is as informed by Ian Easton, Senior Director of the Project 2049 Institute. On August 31 this year, seven dual-use amphibious ferries landing craft came to a Chinese beach near the Taiwan Strait. This is according to a defense analyst Tom Shugart. One of the RoRo ferries was the Bo Hai Heng Tong, a 15,000-ton multipurpose cargo ship. As Tom Shugart explains – “The ferry’s internal parking ‘lane’ is 1.6 miles long and three meters wide, spread across three decks. It translates into a vehicle cargo capacity almost three times that of a San Antonio-class amphibious warship (LPD-17).” Obviously, the plans of China appear to have a single agenda – Taiwan. Whether these weapons of warfare are actually used is anybody’s guess.

Monday, September 12, 2022

Chinese drones in the skies of Taiwan increase tension in the region

As many as 30 unarmed drones buzzed over two islands near the coast of China. These islands belong to Taiwan and most of these aerial vehicles were either civilian, or unidentified. Garrison of Taiwanese soldiers stationed on the rocky outcrops appeared to be the targets. In the initial stages, the Taiwanese soldiers ignored them. However, when the frequency of flights increased, the soldiers fired warning shots and shot down one of them into the sea. This added to the tensions between the two sides. China continues to claim that Taiwan, even though self-governed, is its territory. The presence of Chinse military in the Taiwan Strait has increased. They are flying jets and sailing ships closer to the island. The intention could be to test the defenses of Taiwan, thereby raising the risk of conflict. Chinese Drones: The latest irritant buzzing Taiwan’s defenses. As an analyst explains - “China is using such harassment to increase pressure, deliberately raising tensions around Taiwan. Don’t assume that a civilian drone has nothing to do with military purposes.”

It remains to be seen how Taiwan responds to future Chinese drone flights that might enter its airspace. In addition, whether it can deter Beijing without provoking conflict. China could be using the military drones to gather intelligence. It might be making use of the civilian drones for domestic propaganda purposes in order to undermine the image of Taiwan and mount a campaign of intimidation and psychological warfare. President Tsai Ing-wen has made it clear to China that the military of Taiwan will “not provoke disputes, and we will exercise self-restraint, but it does not mean that we will not counter.” She said this in a recent speech on the Penghu Islands in the Taiwan Strait.