Taiwan to apply war lessons in exercises

The war in Ukraine will inform Taiwan’s annual war drills, which are designed to prepare the island against attacks from China.

The Han Kuang exercises next month will simulate the defence of the island based on Beijing’s recentmilitary harassment and its own naval warfare drills.

A senior military officer said Taiwan’s tactics would also refer to how Ukraine’s forces had been able to hold off a larger, better-equipped foe.

‘‘The defence ministry is closelymonitoring, researching and analysing,’’ Major General LinWen-huang said. ‘‘The military will continue to forge ahead on improving the use of asymmetric warfare, cognitive warfare, information and electronic warfare operations, and use of reserves and full strength of the nation.’’

Fears have grown in the wake of the Russian invasion that Beijing could mount military attacks on Taiwan to achieve unification with the self-governed island, which is home to more than 23 million people. Chinese President Xi Jinping has vowed that China will take control before 2050, and has ratcheted up the military pressure by routinely sending warplanes and warships near the island.

Asymmetric warfare refers to conflict between unmatched opponents who typically use different tactics. Inspired by Ukraine’s resistance to the Russian invasion, Taiwan has gained confidence that it might also repel Chinese invaders through similar tactics.

The United States, which has a security pact with Taiwan to supply it with sufficient hardware and technology to deter any Chinese invasion, has said it will support Taiwan to build such defence capabilities. In a show of support, the US military sailed a guidedmissile destroyer through the Taiwan Strait on Wednesday, drawing stern condemnation from Beijing.