Taiwan's defences must adapt to PLA systems
Analysts warn Taiwan must overhaul its military strategy to counter the PLA's shift towards integrated 'systems destruction warfare', which targets
Taiwan must urgently overhaul its defence strategy to counter the People's Liberation Army's shift towards integrated 'systems warfare', experts from a Taipei-based think tank have warned. This approach, demonstrated in recent global conflicts, extends military targets to include critical civilian infrastructure.
Instead of focusing on individual weapons, the PLA now emphasises connecting intelligence, artificial intelligence, communications, weapons, logistics, and infrastructure into a single combat system. Researcher Chen Chia-sheng of the government-funded Institute for National Defence and Security Research stated that the PLA's primary concern is no longer which side has stronger weapons, but which can better integrate different systems to generate greater overall combat power.
The threat of systems destruction
In an article published last week, Chen detailed the implications for Taiwan. He wrote that the threat in a potential cross-strait conflict now extends far beyond direct attacks on fighters, warships, and missile batteries. Under the PLA's concept of 'systems destruction warfare', Beijing would likely seek to disable the critical nodes that support Taiwanese forces.
These nodes include satellites, radar installations, communications links, command centres, data networks, and fuel and logistics facilities. Chen argued that once these links are severed, even sophisticated weapons could rapidly lose their effectiveness without ever being physically destroyed. The conflicts in Ukraine and Iran have shown the decisive power of this kind of integrated warfare and the vulnerability of critical infrastructure.
Required defensive changes
The experts warn that Taiwan's current defence posture, which may focus on countering individual platforms, is inadequate against this systemic threat. The island's military needs to develop new capabilities to protect and rapidly reconstitute its critical networks and support systems. This represents a fundamental shift from traditional force-on-force defence planning.
The think tank's analysis suggests that resilience and redundancy in command, control, communications, and intelligence infrastructure are now paramount. The ability to maintain operational coherence after initial strikes on support systems could determine the outcome of a conflict. Taiwan's defences must change to meet this new form of warfare, which targets the very connections that make a military force functional.
Chen's assessment, based on observed PLA doctrinal shifts, concludes that the integration of civilian and military infrastructure into the targeting calculus makes Taiwan's entire societal support base a potential battlefield. The warning from the Institute for National Defence and Security Research highlights the evolving and complex nature of the military challenge facing Taiwan.
