By Shannon Tiezzi
A report from Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense outlines why — and how — the PLA would invade Taiwan.
Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense submitted its 2015 report on mainland China’s military to the Taiwanese legislature yesterday. The report noted a variety of scenarios under which China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) might invade Taiwan, and outlined the possible attack strategy.
The MND report noted that leaders in Beijing are concerned about the 2016 presidential elections in Taiwan. Tsai Ing-wen, the candidate for the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is currently leading in the polls, and Beijing has not-so-fond memories of the previous DPP president, Chen Shui-bian. The MND suggested that recent PLA drills seeming to simulate an attack on Taipei, Taiwan’s capital, were a direct result of Beijing’s worries.
The report said that Beijing might decide to invade Taiwan under a number of circumstances: if Taiwan declares independence or takes steps toward de jureindependence; if Taiwan obtains nuclear weapons; if foreign troops are deployed in Taiwan; if there is extreme civil unrest or other internal chaos in Taiwan; if foreign forces interfere in Taiwan’s affairs; or if Taiwan delays cross-strait negotiations on eventual reunification.
Read the full story at The Diplomat