In order to counter China’s expansionist policies, Taiwan has dispatched its military to Dongsha Islands which Beijing is planning to invade, according to reports.
On August 3, People’s Liberation Army (PLA) National Defense University professor Li Daguang was quoted as saying that the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) will stage a landing exercise on China’s Hainan Island to simulate an invasion of the Dongsha Islands.
Although Li later denied this, claiming he had instead been referring to an article published earlier by Kyodo News.
Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense (MND) has been on alert since reports surfaced in May saying the PLA is planning such a mock invasion, with China’s state-run mouthpiece the Global Times warning that it could become a real invasion.
CommonWealth Magazine on July 30 cited Democratic Progressive Party legislator Wang Ting-yu as saying that the Marine Corps has sent additional companies of troops to help defend the Dongsha Islands and that the armed forces are “prepared for the worst”.
Wang said that if enemy forces capture the Dongsha Islands, the military has drafted a “Border Protection Battle Plan” in which Army airborne special operations forces would combine with the Marines to mount a counterattack by sea and air from Taiwan’s Taiping Island.
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