Taiwan reinvigorates its asymmetrical approach to naval warfare
The ROCN took possession of the 3,250t Da Wu, the first of a new class of rescue and salvage vessels, on 23 October. (Photo: CSBC)
The threat from China has prompted Taiwan’s naval forces to shift from traditional naval structures to a more balanced strategy blending asymmetric defences with conventional platforms.
Taiwan faces an existential threat from China as People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft and warships harass the island on a daily basis. The Republic of China Navy (ROCN) is confronting both grey-zone tactics and the threat of a Chinese blockade or full-blown invasion.
A ‘porcupine’ strategy, promulgated in Taiwan’s 2018 Overall Defense Concept policy, called for platforms and asymmetric capabilities to deter a Chinese invasion. This strategy, however, was not wholeheartedly pursued, and the concept disappeared from subsequent Ministry of National Defense (MND) documents.
The ROCN continued to field a traditionally structured navy, but there are renewed signs that the
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