Taiwanese civilians brace for China invasion, too

Taiwan residents and visitors enjoy the night scene in Taipei amid lingering threats from China. PHOTO DAPHNE GALVEZ

TAIPEI, Taiwan—With the imminent threat of an invasion by its northern giant neighbor China, Taiwan is strengthening its defense capabilities to protect its democracy.

Taiwan is allocating at least 2.4 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) to defense and military training.

But aside from this, the Taiwanese themselves are taking up arms in preparation for potential invasion by forming government-sanctioned and corporate-sponsored civilian forces.

According to Taiwan Foreign Minister Joseph Wu, majority of Taiwan’s soldiers, currently a force of at least 160,000, are in “voluntary service.”

He said more and more young people are taking up arms to defend their country as the government provides them military skills.

“This is the type of passion among the young people in serving for the country. After Hong Kong and especially after the war in Ukraine, we see younger people here in Taiwan — their will, their desire to serve in the military to defend Taiwan has been increasing,” the Taiwanese official said.

Wu said the Taiwan government has created an “all-out defense organization agency” to mobilize its citizens through local governments, different government agencies, and non-government organizations on the grassroots level.

The government has also organized a series of survival trainings for civilian volunteers and ordinary citizens, teaching them how to use weapons to defend themselves in the event of an invasion.

Taiwan Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu at a press conference with foreign media in Taipei on Nov. 18, 2022. PHOTO DAPHNE GALVEZ

Wu said Taiwan’s civic defense movement is a “lesson” they drew from the Russian-Ukraine war where ordinary Ukrainians, on top of their military, take up arms to defend their country.

“We want to be able to help the military to make sure that they are able to fight for Taiwan,” Wu told select members of the international media at a press conference.

The Taiwanese official said their military is looking into the “decentralization” of defense, localizing it to reach the ordinary people. They are also trying to acquire “small, personal, mobile, and lethal” types of weapons that civilians can use “if invaders come ashore.”

Wu said the Taiwanese government is looking into the possibility of tapping civilians to help defend the country in case of an invasion.

He said they have been studying the experiences of some central and eastern European countries in “engaging in territorial defense and how they mobilized their civilians for their national defense.”

“Defending Taiwan is our own responsibility. If we are not determined to defend ourselves, we have no right to ask others to help us. The US or any country cannot help Taiwan more than Taiwan wants to help itself,” the Taiwan official said.

Despite preparations for an invasion, the Taiwanese people are hoping war would not happen.

“The hope of the people here in Taiwan is we should not let war happen in this part of the world,” Wu said.

“If there is going to be a war, of course it’s going to be a disaster for Taiwan,” he added.

In a war, Taiwan might suffer, but so will China, Wu said, and “tremendously” at that.

“Taiwan is not defenseless. And I am sure that fellow democracies are also thinking about some ways to sanction China and China is going to bear the consequences of its military actions,” he said.

Apart from strengthening its defense capabilities, Taiwan is also trying to engage more with other democratic nations, especially the US, in security issues.

This is so there will become a “very strong deterrence against the Chinese aggression against Taiwan.”

“I would like to continue to urge the international community to pay attention to the possible Chinese invasion of Taiwan,” Wu said.

“There are more and more countries who pay attention to peace and stability in this area. And when there are more counties that are concerned about the Chinese invasion, they should urge the Chinese government not to do it,” he added.

Taiwan is also asking for support from other nations in terms of their defense capabilities.

“In the process in preparing for our self-defense capabilities, it will be the period of time that we need support from US or from other like-minded countries in providing the necessary defense weapons, or to engage in security cooperation or engage in a series of discussions on how Taiwan can be better prepared for a military scenario,” Wu said.

Apart from the US, Taiwan must also look to other countries for support, including Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, and the Philippines, according to Tsun-Yen Wang, a research associate fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research.

Wang said the Philippines is a “very important” ally of Taiwan in terms of defense, saying that both countries still have a “very close connection.”

In a geographical aspect, the Philippines would be a strategic location should Taiwan need to preserve its weapons and military capabilities since it is only south of the island.

“I think it is very important for the Taiwanese government to improve the ties between the Philippines in military cooperation,” Wang said.

Taiwan also hopes to participate in military activities between the Philippines and the US, he added.

However, shoring up support from other countries still remains a challenge for Taiwan, hampering its military buildup.

According to I-Chung Lai, president of think tank Prospect Foundation, despite its sufficient resources to build defense capabilities, Taiwan is having difficulties in acquiring military elements.

This is due to the “international isolation played by China on Taiwan,” he said.

Taiwan is also facing difficulties in achieving its goal of producing its own weapons due to its diplomatic status in the international community, since some of the military designs and production involved technologies from other countries.

“Defense spending is very different from other countries. They do not have the kind of problem that Taiwan has,” Lai said.

“We have the money but we don’t know where else we can buy the military elements that we need,” he added.

Currently, Taiwan has diplomatic ties with only 14 sovereign countries and the Vatican as a result of China’s alienation campaign.

Taiwan is a member of approximately 70 international organizations, including the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation and the World Trade Organizations.

However, it has no seat in the United Nations since its status as a sovereign nation remains an unresolved issue.

Taiwan was a founding member of the UN in 1949 until it was replaced by China in 1971.

Since then, the UN recognizes only one China — the People’s Republic of China — which means that Taiwan on its own cannot go to world conventions as it is already represented by the mainland government.

According to Catherine Hsu, the director general of the Department of International Information Services, Taiwan has “little access” to UN specialized agencies.

“We were not allowed to go to their meetings and get access to information. This is very unfair to us. It’s just unrealistic for the rest of the global community to totally exclude Taiwan from broad issues,” she said.

This is not the first time Taiwan called for the inclusion of the self-ruled island in global discussions.

At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the country asked that the UN and the World Health Organization allow them to participate in talks, noting that they can significantly contribute to efforts to end the health crisis.

READ: Taiwan seeks WHO membership so it could help fight COVID-19 pandemic

At one point, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-Wen herself stressed that Taiwan’s continued exclusion from several international bodies and meetings like the recent World Health Assembly (WHA) is a loss for the whole world, given the country’s success in fending off the coronavirus pandemic and being able to increase mobility without running the risk of more infections.

READ: Leave no one behind? Taiwan asks UN why it’s still not welcome

Taiwan is seeking to at least gain observer status in the UN, since the organization is a “highly political arena.”

“We hope that eventually we could redress this issue and allow Taiwan to have a meaningful participation in UN forums,” Hsu said.

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