TAIPEI (Dispatches) -- China is capable of blockading Taiwan’s major ports and airports to cut off key transport links, the island’s defende ministry warned Tuesday, with Beijing-Taipei tensions at their highest in years.
China sees the self-ruled island as part of its territory to be brought into its fold, by force if necessary.
Beijing is strengthening its air, sea and land strike capabilities against the island, Taiwan’s defense ministry said in a biennial report released Tuesday.
Those capabilities include imposing a “blockade against our critical harbors, airports and outbound flight routes, to cut off our air and sea lines of communication,” the report added.
The report also warned that China is capable of striking all of Taiwan with its missile arsenal, including ballistic and cruise variants, and is also beefing up its ability to launch amphibious assaults on the island.
Taiwan’s defense minister warned last month that military tensions with China were at their highest in four decades.