Taiwan Prepares Wartime Food Plans Amid Potential Chinese Blockade

TAIPEI >> Taiwan’s government offered rare details Tuesday about its wartime food plan, saying it is taking monthly inventories of essential supplies such as rice and ensuring they are stored properly across the island in case of a Chinese blockade.

China, which views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, has for the past five years staged almost daily military activity around the island, including war games involving blockades and attacks on ports. Taiwan’s government rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims.

China’s latest war games around the island, held last week, included blockading key ports and areas and attacking sea and land targets, Beijing said.

In a report to parliament on preparations in the event of a Chinese blockade, a copy of which was reviewed by Reuters, Taiwan’s Agriculture Ministry said it had ensured that rice stocks were above the three-month level as required by law, and that food supplies were stored. across the island in an attempt to “reduce the risk of attack”.

The ministry said Taiwan’s current rice stocks were sufficient to sustain the island for at least seven months and that plans to ration rice through supply stations across the island were being made in the event of a food crisis.

During a lockdown, more agricultural land will be used for rice cultivation, the ministry said, adding that it will also prioritize growing sweet potatoes, soybeans and fresh vegetables, as well as using more lakes for aquaculture.

In a scenario where sea fishing is not permitted, the ministry stated that the island’s fish feed inventory will be sufficient to support fishing in lagoons for more than three months.

The ministry said it plans to create a working group to ensure food supply security by taking a monthly inventory of the island’s food resources.

Taiwan, an agricultural powerhouse during Japanese colonial rule from 1895 to 1945, depends on imports for most of its food needs as agricultural land was taken over by factories during rapid industrialization that began in the 1960s.

Taiwan’s food self-sufficiency rate in 2023 fell to 30.3%, the lowest level in 18 years, according to an earlier report by the ministry.

In a separate report to parliament on preparations for the same scenario, the Department of National Security said China’s cyber forces were honing their capabilities to infiltrate key online infrastructures such as telecommunications in a bid to destabilize Taiwan with disinformation. during a conflict with China.

Additionally, over the past two years, China has carried out “joint combat readiness patrols” near Taiwan three to four times a month, the department added.

The number of tankers used for aerial refueling, landing ships and other forces participating in training has gradually increased, he said.

“This underscores that the communist military has continued to increase its military threat against Taiwan in an effort to establish a blockade and control of our external sea lines of communication,” the office said.