Systems collapse could knock out Taiwan without a fight, military magazine says
Beijing could crush
Taiwan by knocking out the island's key infrastructure nodes – amplifying its vulnerability exponentially like a 'butterfly effect', according to an article in the May issue of Chinese military magazine
Naval and Merchant Ships.
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The article detailed 30 to 40 'super critical' targets that could lead to a chain collapse of fundamental infrastructure systems if attacked with 'best timing', including liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities that were the focus of a recent
People's Liberation Army drill.
'A system collapse would quickly destroy the Taiwanese independence forces' will to resist and create favourable conditions for a 'win without fighting',' it said. 'It could provide a low-cost, high-efficiency military option for resolving the Taiwan issue.'
The article estimated that electricity and water supplies could be cut for days, bringing traffic to a standstill, disrupting communications and internet access, delaying medical services and causing food shortages.
The tactic of 'urban collapse warfare' could achieve the maximum effect with the minimum military cost – the ideal state of 'defeating the enemy without fighting', the article said, quoting
Sun Tzu's The Art of War.
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Taiwan, an island highly dependent on imported energy and commodities, and regularly threatened by natural disasters such as earthquakes and typhoons, is a perfect target for this kind of tactic, the article pointed out.
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