The risks of a cross-strait military accident are on the rise as Beijing steps up pressure on Taiwan, a former Taiwanese defence official has warned, citing the lack of direct communication channels between the two sides.
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Andrew Yang Nien-dzu, who served as Taiwan’s deputy defence minister for four years and briefly held the role of minister, spoke to the South China Morning Post on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue, Asia’s premier security conference.
Yang raised concerns over the increasing “grey zone operations” by Beijing, including the more frequent activities by its coastguard forces near Taiwan. These were more difficult to handle, he said, as they “are not actually military operations but carry a military message.”
“Although there have not been accidental conflicts [between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait], this kind of activity has placed immense pressure on us,” he said.
Yang also voiced concerns about the lack of official communication between Beijing and Taipei since 2016.
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Exchanges were suspended that year after the previous Taiwanese leader Tsai Ing-wen took office and refused to accept the one-China principle. Formal talks remain halted under current leader William Lai Ching-te who, like Tsai, is from the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).