TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Ministry of Defense said on Monday that if China launches a sudden military attack, the armed forces will carry out decentralized operations without waiting for orders.
The ministry is closely monitoring key early-warning indicators of PLA activities targeting Taiwan and assessing current troop movements and potential future actions to ensure early warning and rapid response, per CNA. Current PLA activities and potential conflict hotspots include the East China Sea, the western Pacific, the South China Sea, and waters surrounding the Taiwan Strait.
It integrates intelligence and communications channels to transmit information to the Joint Operations Command Center, establish a common operational picture, and maintain situational awareness of PLA activities. During peacetime, the ministry uses key warning indicators to define threat scenarios and harassment types, enabling appropriate deployment of naval and air forces.
When China announces combined military operations around the Taiwan Strait, the Armed Forces Emergency Response Center will be activated to guide operations. Readiness levels may be raised to Level Two or Level One, with combat drills conducted to prepare for the possibility of China turning drills into an actual attack.
If China launches a sudden attack, all units will implement “distributed control” without waiting for orders and carry out combat missions under decentralized operational guidance.
The ministry emphasized that in response to China’s intensifying gray-zone provocations, the armed forces plan next year to conduct computer-assisted command post exercises and combat readiness drills. These phased, comprehensive exercises will ensure strategic, operational, and tactical units are familiar with command and combat procedures, and achieve seamless peacetime-to-wartime transition.
