Taiwan will conduct new drills in coming weeks to ensure the island has access to critical supplies in the event of a Chinese blockade, a risk demonstrated by Iran’s closure of a global energy chokepoint.
A senior Taiwanese official said the government will carry out its first-ever joint exercise between the Interior Ministry and other departments to escort ships carrying natural gas and oil during a naval blockade. He also warned a large-scale denial of access to the area would hinder the entire region.
“If the Taiwan Strait or the surrounding area of Taiwan will be blockaded, it is almost a 100% of the blockade of the regional energy supply,” Sawyer Mars, Taiwan’s deputy interior minister, said in an interview earlier this month. “It’s not only Taiwan’s problem, it’s the whole area’s problem.”
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