‘Deny, delay, degrade’: Taiwan unveils long-range strategy to hold off PLA in strait

Taiwan’s defence ministry has outlined a wartime strategy of using long-range firepower to “slow the advance” of People’s Liberation Army (PLA) forces in the event of a cross-strait assault.The ministry report on Monday comes as lawmakers began formal discussions on a proposed NT$1.25 trillion (US$40 billion) special defence budget.The ministry said the military would prioritise targeting the incoming adversary – including amphibious fleets and logistics support forces – as they mobilised and moved across the Taiwan-strait" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="5508" data-entity-type="location">Taiwan Strait, aiming to disrupt an attack before it reached the island’s shores.The approach forms part of a broader “joint anti-landing operations” doctrine, designed to “deny, delay and degrade” PLA forces at every stage of a cross-strait assault, according to the procurement report tabled at the Legislative Yuan.It said Beijing was expected to combine long-range rocket strikes on Taiwan’s critical infrastructure with a large-scale amphibious operation, using warships and requisitioned civilian vessels to ferry troops across the strait.Submarines and coastguard ships could also be deployed to enforce a blockade and cut off external support.