Escuche esta historia
--:--
6:07
China could soon invade Taiwan
Taiwan prepares for a possible attack from China. Four hundred men began a government-sponsored training to get ready for the possible invasion; these were some reservists from the island and with their military suits they are ready to shoot at the target in order to protect themselves.
Experts assume that Taiwan is increasing its preparations and tightening the protection program because they are standing firm against the possible attack from China.
The ruling Chinese Communist Party has made statements about its desire to take the island and set it on track despite never having ruled it.
Beijing, for its part, is keeping a close eye on this intention. Last year it sent warplanes to the territory of the island, which is less than 200 kilometers from the southeast coast of China.
“It is very dangerous for them to continue like this,” spokeswoman Zhu Fenglian told a regular briefing in Beijing on Wednesday. Taiwan's training has drawn the ire of China. Fenglian went on to say, "(They) don't hesitate to tie the people of Taiwan to the tank of separatism and push them into an abyss of disaster."
And although the training remains firm, Beijing is annoyed and the analysts, due to their expertise, affirm that the island's efforts will not be enough in the face of a possible attack by one of the strongest and largest armies in the world.
Certainly, the war between Russia and Ukraine has raised strong winds in the dispute between China and Taiwan, has made the island prepare for the event, despite being hundreds of kilometers from the Ukrainians.
Panorama in Taiwan
Many years before Russia's unprovoked attack on Ukraine, Beijing had already aroused fears in its entourage that it might invade Taiwan. But in recent months, Beijing has begun preparations for military flights, training flights and ships, all close to the island.
Taipei, the capital of Taiwan, has responded with a record amount of spending this year and US$8.7 billion to improve its war-fighting capacity over the next five years, as well as other military strategies to power its attack on the largest military of the world. This includes the development of new missiles.
The island government also wants to increase the size of its army, as it has only 160,000 troops, all of whom are volunteers, but this is only a tenth of the size of the Beijing People's Liberation Army. Although he also has a million reservists he could call.
"The recent situation in Ukraine shows that, in addition to international support and assistance, it comes down to the unity of our people to safeguard our country," Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen said.
The top president also considers that this preparation of Taiwan can be a parallelism with Ukraine, which armed ordinary people to enlist in their ranks.
“This training mission puts the spirit of total defense into practice. Every reservist has to assume that war can happen in his hometown,” he added.
Taiwan has raised different regulations allowing people to prepare for the possible attack, for example, one of them is that all Taiwanese between the ages of 19 and 36 who meet the necessary requirements must undergo four months of mandatory military training.
Taiwan and its resemblance to Ukraine
Meanwhile, experts affirm a possible comparison of the island with Ukraine, to which the elected Power in China has rejected, expressing:
"Taiwan's future lies in the peaceful development of cross-strait relations and the reunification of China," Qin Gang, China's ambassador to the United States, wrote in an article Sunday in the Washington Post.
“The Taiwan issue is China's internal affair. It makes no sense to insist on the principle of sovereignty in Ukraine while undermining China's sovereignty and territorial integrity in Taiwan," Gang added.
In turn, since Taiwan is an island, it could represent consequences that affect Japan, due to the latter's proximity to the island. China would have to make a well-premeditated attack to mobilize the ships. Added to that, Taiwan is a world leader in the development of semiconductor chips, its possible invasion would impact the world market.
For his part, Chang Yan-ting, former deputy commander of the Taiwanese air force, expressed the urgency of extending the island's compulsory military training, since he describes the four months set aside for this objective as “totally inadequate”.
"We must update our military strategy, including extending the recruitment period so that we can properly teach them how to position themselves in case of war, and how to handle anti-tank missiles and other equipment," Chang added.
It should be noted that this Sunday the Taiwan presidential office reported that the authorities are evaluating taking this measure to expand compulsory military training, after President Tsai gave the directive to the Ministry of Defense to consider this fact after observing the situation with the civilians in Ukraine.
"Events in Russia demonstrate that assumptions that autocratic leadership will always make rational decisions have been completely shattered by Vladimir Putin, in his decision to invade Ukraine," said J. Michael Cole, a senior fellow at the Taipei-based Global Institute Taiwan..
He also exhorted about the need to expand military capacity and prepare for any contingency, and also assured that:
“It does not mean that Xi Jinping is going to decide tomorrow to use force against Taiwan because his friend in Moscow decided to do it against Ukraine, but it does make it clear that there is a possibility – albeit a slim one – that autocratic regimes decide by their own calculations, by their own own reasons, use force against a democratic country.
Despite the differences, the experts insist that recommendations and certain steps can be given to help Taiwan, learning from the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
