The blockade of Taiwan by the People's Republic of China would in itself constitute an ‘act of war’, the Taiwanese defence minister said today, after Beijing staged this scenario during recent military exercises.
Wellington Koo said, quoted by the local press, that the blockade could be considered an "act of war", according to the UN definition, once, for this purpose, the Chinese Army would completely ban the entry of ships and aircraft in Taiwan, a territory governed autonomously since 1949 and considered by Beijing to be its own province.
"There is a significant difference between military maneuvers and an effective blockade, and the impact on the international community would be completely different," he observed.
The minister recalled that, according to a recent report by the US Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), maritime shipping accounted for about one-fifth of global maritime trade in 2022.
"If the Chinese Communist Party carries out a blockade, as defined by international law, it will have a serious impact on world trade and economy and the international community will not be able to ignore such an action," Koo said.
The observations came nine days after China conducted a new round of military exercises around Taiwan, in which the Chinese military simulated a blockade of ports and other important areas of the island.
During these exercises, China used a record 153 aircraft, including fighter jets, helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles ("drones"), and used the Coast Guard to search the main island of Taiwan for the first time.
Taiwan's Defense Ministry also said in a statement that it had detected the passage of the Liaoning, the oldest of the Chinese aircraft carriers, through the Taiwan Strait on Tuesday night.
According to the Ministry, the ship sailed north with other Chinese navy ships, after having passed around Pratas Island, a territory controlled by Taiwan in the northern part of the South China Sea.
"Currently, the aircraft carrier is heading northwest," Taiwan's defense minister said, adding that after China's recent maneuvers in which Liaoning participated, Taiwan's Armed Forces have been following "closely" the carrier movements.
Last August, Taiwan's Council for Mainland Affairs released a report warning that Beijing could use aircraft carriers to surround the island and prevent any outside assistance through an "anti-access / area denial" strategy (A2/ AD).
The agency in charge of relations with mainland China said that the aircraft carriers Liaoning and Shandong are "constantly developing combat capabilities" and "conducting long-term training outside the first chain of islands", to "build a defense capability between the first and second chain of islands".
The first island chain is a strategic concept that usually refers to the line that goes from the Kuril Islands, passing through Japan, Taiwan and the Philippines, to Singapore, while the second island chain extends from the Japanese archipelago of Ogasawara to Palau.
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