Taiwan delays non-urgent military projects to respond to China’s gray-zone pressure

Taiwan’s Defense Ministry says it will postpone non-urgent military projects as it redirects limited resources toward the threats it considers most pressing from China.

In documents submitted to the Legislative Yuan, the ministry said China had intensified gray-zone activities around Taiwan while rapidly expanding its military strength. It cited joint combat-readiness patrols, military exercises, coast guard enforcement and other actions as part of sustained pressure.

The ministry said China was also combining naval and air forces with maritime police, maritime militia, legal warfare, cognitive operations and economic coercion. It described these activities as supporting efforts to turn the Taiwan Strait into what Beijing treats as internal waters, while testing the transition from exercises to combat and building the ability to launch a sudden mixed conventional and unconventional attack.

Taiwan’s planned acquisitions include new rifles, night-vision equipment, portable counter-drone systems, mobile barriers and new wheeled combat vehicles. The navy plans to upgrade existing submarines, conduct submerged testing of the domestically built Hai Kun submarine, and develop a submarine rescue ship and a new replenishment vessel.

The military also plans to acquire vertical-takeoff, coastal surveillance and coastal attack drones, as well as loitering munitions and additional ALTIUS systems. Air defense plans include the Strong Bow medium-range anti-tactical ballistic missile and a layered “Taiwan Shield.” The ministry said it would also strengthen digital command systems, fiber-optic backups, ammunition supplies, mobilization training and the resilience of military communications.