China is becoming increasingly aggressive in its military activities near Taiwan and also in its online efforts to weaken Taiwanese trust in the government, the island’s Defense Ministry said Thursday.
In a new edition of a report published every two years, the Defense Ministry said Beijing was strengthening its ability to stage a surprise attack on the democratically governed island, which China claims as its territory.
The report cites seven rounds of major Chinese war exercises around the island since 2022 and other non-combat operations — known as gray zone tactics — as forms of military pressure on Taiwan.
“The Chinese Communists have adopted gray zone harassment tactics, combined with joint combat readiness patrols, targeted military exercises and cognitive warfare, which poses a comprehensive threat to us,” the report said.
Among Chinese operations reported earlier this year were a live-fire exercise off the Taiwanese port city of Kaohsiung, amphibious landing exercises in the South China Sea and a series of sorties across the Taiwan Strait.
Online, China uses artificial intelligence tools to scan for security vulnerabilities and employs a “professional cyber army” to spread disinformation and sow discord, the report said.
Earlier this year, RFA’s Asia Fact Check Lab reported on Chinese digital influence campaigns in Taiwan and groups communicating through online polls, influencers and cross-strait collaborations.
For its part, Taiwan has toughened its language towards China this year, with President Lai Ching-te in March calling Beijing a “hostile foreign force” intent on “absorbing” the island. Taiwan’s military exercises were expanded this year and included simulating a response to an amphibious invasion of the Penghu Islands.
Includes Reuters reporting.