[News in War History] Taiwan's 'Hedgehog' Counter Strategy Against China... "Can Strike the Three Gorges Dam"

Taiwan Tests Missiles Capable of Striking Sanxia Dam
17th Century Anti-Qing Leader Zheng Chenggong's 40 Years of Resistance
30 Years of 'Kinmen Artillery Battles'... Taiwan Successfully Defends

Amid escalating military tensions surrounding the Taiwan Strait, the Taiwanese military has announced the test launch of a cruise missile capable of striking the world's largest Three Gorges Dam located in western China. This move is interpreted as part of a 'deterrence by the weak of the strong' strategy, aiming to showcase the ability to strike mainland China in case of emergency and thereby deter Chinese provocations.

In particular, Taiwan's defense strategy is referred to as the 'porcupine strategy.' The name comes from the image of a porcupine bristling its quills to fend off predators. Since 1949, Taiwan has continued this basic defense strategy against China, and the United States is also accelerating arms support to strengthen Taiwan's defense capabilities.

[Image source=Reuters·Yonhap News]

However, following the outbreak of the Ukraine war, China's military provocations in the Taiwan Strait have intensified significantly, raising concerns that China might launch an actual military assault on Taiwan. In this segment, we will explore Taiwan's porcupine strategy and related security issues, which could potentially shake the entire East Asian security landscape.

◆News: "Taiwan Military Test Launches Cruise Missile Capable of Striking Three Gorges Dam"

[Image source=Taiwan Ministry of National Defense]

According to Taiwan's United Daily News on the 17th, the Taiwanese military conducted a test launch of the Hsiung Sheng (雄昇) cruise missile with a maximum range of 1,200 km from the Pingtung Jufeng base in southern Taiwan early the previous day. The test launch of the Hsiung Sheng missile, which had been kept a national secret by the Taiwanese government, attracted significant attention both inside and outside Taiwan.

This missile was initially developed during the presidency of Chen Shui-bian and began mass production and deployment under President Ma Ying-jeou. This recent launch is the first time in about 200,000 that the missile's launch has been detected. It is reported to be deployed with the 791st Air Defense Brigade, one of five air defense brigades under the Air Defense Missile Command of the Taiwan Air Force Headquarters.

Notably, the missile is known to be capable of striking major cities across southern China as well as the world's largest dam, the Three Gorges Dam, which has made it a hot topic. As the Chinese military has recently escalated military provocations around the Taiwan Strait, the Taiwanese military is believed to be demonstrating its missile capabilities as a deterrence policy.

The Taiwanese military has been intensifying the development of various missiles capable of striking southern mainland China, as well as air defense missiles, to strengthen its ability to retaliate against Chinese attacks. This is interpreted as the implementation of the porcupine strategy to prevent China from recklessly invading Taiwan despite its relative disadvantage.

◆History 1: Zheng Chenggong’s 40-Year Resistance Against the Qing Dynasty… Suppressed by Maritime Blockade

Portrait of Zheng Chenggong. [Image source=National Taiwan Museum]

In fact, in Chinese history, there was a country called Dongning Kingdom (東寧國) that resisted the Qing Dynasty, which controlled mainland China, for 40 years, centered around Taiwan and the southern Chinese islands, similar to Taiwan's current porcupine strategy. The story of its leader, Zheng Chenggong (鄭成功), who was known as the maritime king of East Asia at the time, is well known.

Zheng Chenggong’s family was a maritime power active around Fujian Province in southern China during the late Ming Dynasty. Starting as pirates, they amassed wealth by leading a large trading fleet. After the fall of the Ming Dynasty in 1644, they continued anti-Qing movements. At one point, they gathered up to 150,000 troops and launched attacks on Nanjing, conducting vigorous counterattacks in southern China.

Later, to resist the Qing army for the long term, Zheng Chenggong moved his base to Taiwan and established the Dongning Kingdom in 1661. During this process, he captured and destroyed Fort Provintia, a city built by the Dutch East India Company in Taiwan. He also fought and defeated the Dutch East India Company’s forces. Subsequently, he continued air raids targeting the southern Chinese coast centered on Taiwan, greatly alarming the Qing Dynasty.

Ultimately, the Qing Dynasty adopted a strategy to starve him out rather than engage in military operations. In 1655, the Qing government issued the Sea Ban Order (海禁令) across China, prohibiting anyone from sailing beyond the seas. This was a very strict blockade policy targeting the Dongning Kingdom in Taiwan.

As a result, the Dongning Kingdom suffered a severe blow to its maritime trade, lost its economic base, and gradually weakened until it was conquered by the Qing army in 1683. This marked the complete suppression of the anti-Qing movement 40 years after the fall of the Ming Dynasty. Although it ended in failure, Zheng Chenggong’s anti-Qing movement and counterattacks on the mainland are still widely remembered in modern Taiwan.

◆History 2: 30 Years of Battles on Kinmen Island Since 1949… Taiwan’s Successful Defense

The image shows Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen and the top military officials of Taiwan visiting Kinmen Island to commemorate the 62nd anniversary of the Kinmen shelling in 2020.
[Image source=EPA·Yonhap News]

Modern Taiwanese forces have not maintained peace with China since 1949. For about 30 years, they engaged in artillery battles and long-term standoffs with Chinese forces around Kinmen Island (金門島), resulting in significant casualties. The fiercest artillery battle occurred in 1958, and such confrontations continued until 1979.

After the Korean War ended in 1953, border disputes between China and Taiwan intensified from 1954 onward. From August to October 1958, Taiwanese and Chinese forces fought a fierce 44-day artillery battle on Kinmen Island, which is only 4 km from Xiamen on the Chinese mainland.

China fired over 470,000 shells at Kinmen and its surroundings but failed to capture the island. The Taiwanese military resisted strongly despite facing up to 60,000 shells per day. At that time, the Taiwanese military boosted soldiers’ morale by providing them with liquor with an alcohol content exceeding 60 degrees, which has since been commercialized as 'Kinmen Kaoliang Liquor,' now one of Taiwan’s representative alcoholic beverages.

Ultimately, despite being at a disadvantage, the Taiwanese military successfully defended Kinmen Island and maintained the national system, though the losses were considerable. Over 900 soldiers and more than 200 civilians died on both sides. The Taiwanese military’s strong resistance, combined with the deployment of the U.S. Seventh Fleet and military supplies from the U.S., strongly warned China, leading to the failure of China’s plan to capture Kinmen.

Nevertheless, sporadic skirmishes continued, and the Kinmen artillery battles persisted until January 1, 1979, when formal diplomatic relations were established between the U.S. and China. During the ongoing artillery battles, the Taiwanese government transformed Kinmen Island into a massive fortress, installing key command centers and defense bases underground. It remains Taiwan’s frontline base and a site for security education today.

◆Implication: Taiwan Strait Shrouded in War Clouds… A Flashpoint for Northeast Asian Security

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

Taiwan’s porcupine strategy for defense is ongoing. Positioned at the heart of U.S.-China tensions, the conflict has intensified. Particularly, at the end of last month, the U.S. government announced the unprecedented use of the 'Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA)' to provide direct military aid worth $345 million (approximately 440 billion KRW) without congressional approval, escalating the confrontation.

Taiwan’s defense issue is critical as it produces over 80% of the world’s advanced military semiconductors, making it a matter that could disrupt the global semiconductor supply chain and raising concerns about direct U.S.-China conflict. Since the outbreak of the Ukraine war, there are even suggestions that the Chinese government might engage in risky military actions similar to Russia’s, further heightening military tensions.

Should a military clash occur in the Taiwan Strait between the U.S. and China, it could significantly impact security on the Korean Peninsula, making it impossible for South Korea to regard it as a distant issue. We hope for a breakthrough toward reconciliation in cross-strait relations as well as between the U.S. and China.