Faced with an aggressive China ready to use force to achieve the unification it has sought for decades, Taiwan needs strong strategies to deter and, if it comes to fighting, to defend itself.
One element of this strong defense could be one of the cheapest naval tactics: sea mines, experts say. Explosives hidden underwater could be key to derailing an amphibious assault and waging asymmetric warfare against China’s superior navy.
Experts say naval mines could be very useful in stopping the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy or, at the very least, creating major headaches during an invasion.
“Strategically placed naval mines would allow Taiwan to leverage its natural geographic advantages to strengthen its deterrence by denial and build a formidable defense in depth,” experts and analysts wrote in a paper published earlier this month in War on the Rocks.
“By exploiting Taiwan’s shallow waters and dangerous coastline, mines used at different water depths and locations would provide Taiwan with an effective and inexpensive means to delay, disrupt and degrade Chinese forces,” Jonathan Dorsey, Kelly Grieco and Jennifer Kavanagh. said.
The mines force Chinese ships to deal with the explosive threat before moving forward. Ships such as minesweepers could be sent to clear mines, but this effort would take time and could delay and hamper China’s assault plans.
Mines would not solve all of Taiwan’s problems, but as part of a broader “porcupine” strategy that U.S. officials and experts have talked about in the past, they could be very effective.
The idea of a “porcupine” defense could include “a lot of little things”, i.e. asymmetric platforms which, when combined with expensive joint force systems such as as advanced combat aircraft and drones, provide effective deterrence and defense.
In the event of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan, “the goal should be to provide a critical moment for more U.S. firepower to be deployed and to reduce the number of PLA forces that must be targeted in progress.” of road, or defeated at the water’s edge. advantage,” RAND senior engineer Scott Savitz wrote last year. “Naval mines constitute one such capability, complementing various other weapons.”
An underwater mine explodes during a demonstration during the major maritime maneuver “Northern Coasts 23” in the Baltic Sea, off the coast of Latvia. Bernd von Jutrczenka/Picture Alliance via Getty Images
Sea mines have long been a useful means of preventing enemy access to an area. As the three experts wrote in their commentary on the War of the Rocks, nine mines blocked French warships from the port of Tamsui in northern Taiwan in October 1884, during the Sino-French War.
They were commonly used during the world wars and posed major threats to warships.
More recently, sea mines were used extensively in the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea during the war in Ukraine, damaging and destroying ships and making the already dangerous waters even more precarious. Both Ukraine and Russia have used these weapons, which pose a risk not only to military operations but also to civilian commercial activities.
This speaks to the wider problems posed by naval mines. Although they can be an effective deterrent, they can also pose a threat to their environment and civilians, and could be difficult to eliminate. They can also break loose during a storm or rough water and drift long distances, causing unexpected complications.
For Taiwan, another problem concerns the acquisition and deployment of mines. It would take a major effort to prioritize such an effort and it is unclear how China would respond if such activities were observed.
In 2022, Taiwan added minelaying ships to its fleet to strengthen its defense. At the time, according to the AP, Lt. Hsu Shu-wei of the Second Mining Operations Squadron said the weapons were intended to “strengthen our asymmetric warfare power” and prevent “the enemy from entering our island “.
But additional capabilities would be needed to fully employ naval mine defense.
“Although the mines would significantly strengthen Taiwan’s deterrence and defense, Taipei has not made the necessary preparations. » Dorsey, Grieco and Kavanagh ” said in his commentary, emphasizing that “investing in necessary capabilities and improving preparedness to conduct mining operations” should be “top priorities for Taiwan.”
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