Taiwan Bolsters Defenses As Xi Jinping Might Launch Invasion

Taiwan is bolstering its defenses and steeling itself for the possibility of war with China as leader Xi Jinping readies to assume a third term in power and tries to achieve what no predecessor has done by taking control of the island, Yimou Lee and Ben Blanchard reported for Reuters.

Photo Insert: Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen has made modernizing the armed forces a priority.

Xi has made no secret of his desire to make democratically ruled Taiwan a part of the People's Republic of China - peacefully if possible but with force if needed - to cement his legacy in the history books.

China's war games near Taiwan in August pushed tensions to their highest in decades, reigniting fears of conflict that have loomed ever since the defeated Republic of China government fled to the island in 1949 after losing a civil war to Mao Zedong's communists, Fabian Hamacher and Yew Lun Tian also reported for Reuters.

President Tsai Ing-wen in her national day speech on Monday said war was "absolutely not an option", which a source familiar with her thinking said was aimed partly at China's ruling Communist Party congress, which opens on Sunday.

She also outlined steps to boost the military including with mass production of precision missiles and warships, warplanes, tanks and heavy artillery.

"Through our actions, we are sending a message to the international community that Taiwan will take responsibility for our own self-defense, that we will not leave anything to fate," she added.

Xi is widely expected to win his third term at the one-every-five-years party congress. While Taiwan has lived with the threat of Chinese invasion for more than seven decades and there is no sign of public panic at Beijing's bellicosity, government officials are alarmed, and offer a stark analysis in private.

"Now we should be abandoning our illusions and preparing to fight. We really need to be prepared to fight," said a Taiwanese source familiar with the government's China policy, speaking on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to discuss intelligence assessments with media.

Tsai has made modernizing the armed forces a priority, to develop what she said this week was "comprehensive asymmetric warfare capabilities" with small, highly mobile precision weapons such as anti-ship missiles that can be launched from the back of a truck and moved to safety after firing.

WEEKLY FEATURE : MVP Group Keeps Lights On During Pandemic