TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Experts say newly acquired M1A2T Abrams tanks will increase the combat effectiveness of Taiwan's coastal defenses against a Chinese landing force.
On Monday, the first 38 M1A2T Abrams tanks out of 108 purchased from the US arrived at Hsinchu County's Hukou Township. The Army plans to keep 10 tanks at the Armor Training Command and Armor School in Hukou Township, while the remaining 98 will be deployed to the Army's 269th Brigade in New Taipei's Linkou District and the 584th Brigade in Hukou, per CNA.
Based on analysis by Lin Ying-yu (林穎佑), an assistant professor at Tamkang University's Graduate Institute of International Affairs and Strategic Studies, and Chieh Chung (揭仲), an associate research fellow at the National Policy Foundation in Taipei, the People's Liberation Army's new amphibious warfare strategy no longer focuses on establishing traditional beachheads. Instead, it emphasizes leveraging mobility to penetrate Taiwan's rear areas.
Chieh told CNA that Taiwan's aging M60A3 and CM11 tanks may struggle against China's Type 05 amphibious fighting vehicle and its 105 mm rifled gun which fires anti-tank and armor-piercing rounds. However, Lin said M1A2T tanks will help shore up Taiwan's defenses.
Institute for National Defense and Security Research Director (NDSR) scholar Huang En-hao (黃恩浩) told CNA the combined land-air operational capability of tanks is critical. Huang said M1A2T tanks and AH-64E Apache attack helicopters could significantly enhance Taiwan's combat effectiveness in eliminating enemy forces on the coast.
Huang said that Taiwan's Combined Arms Battalion, modeled after the US military, integrates the Army's mechanized infantry and armored brigades under the Guandu Area Command into mixed units to maximize joint operational capabilities. Subsequent joint combat training with the tanks will be crucial for enhancing Taiwan's anti-landing capabilities.
NDSR Director Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲) explained to CNA that with ground and landing operations, infantry and tanks are not initially deployed to the front lines. Instead, Su said artillery is used to launch the first wave of attacks, and only in the middle and later stages do infantry and tanks conduct battlefield sweeps.
Su said for anti-landing operations, the first line of defense consists of anti-ship missiles. The second line includes the Thunderbolt-2000 multiple-launch rocket system, M109 self-propelled howitzers, and HIMARS rocket systems.
He said the third line is formed by AH-64E Apache attack helicopters, which target enemy forces along the coastline. The fourth line involves land-based TOW missiles and other equipment.
According to Su, it is only the fifth and final line of defense where M1A2T tanks and ground forces come into play, potentially supported by vehicles such as the CM-34 Clouded Leopard eight-wheeled armored vehicle equipped with a Mk44 Bushmaster 30mm chain gun.
Su said M1A2T tank deployment with the Army units in Linkou and Hukou is likely linked to the defense of Taoyuan International Airport and the Port of Taipei. The Hsinchu area has beaches vulnerable to PLA landings, and the 584th Brigade can concentrate its forces at key locations.
Meanwhile, the 269th Brigade, stationed at the Port of Taipei, can prevent the PLA from capturing the port and using it as a logistical hub for administrative offloading. Su said the PLA would seek to seize the port to eliminate the need for a beachhead assault and allow the use of existing port facilities.