TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan is using a “peace through strength” strategy to make any military attempt to alter the status quo too costly and unlikely to succeed, National Security Council Deputy Secretary-General Lin Fei-fan (林飛帆) has said in an op-ed.
His article, “Taiwan’s Version of Peace through Strength,” appeared in the inaugural issue of Statecraft and Strategy, a quarterly from the American Foreign Policy Council. Lin will report on Taiwan’s urban resilience to the Presidential Office’s Whole-of-Society Defense Resilience Committee on Thursday, per CNA.
“Peace in the Taiwan Strait is not preserved by slogans,” Lin wrote. “Rather, what is essential is to eliminate any expectation in Beijing that military coercion can achieve its goal at an acceptable cost.”
Lin said deterrence goes beyond military strength. Taiwan is building the capacity to maintain normal operations under sustained pressure, he explained, noting “whole-of-society resilience” ensures the country can adapt even amid threats.
On the military side, Lin said Taiwan is enhancing asymmetric capabilities. He highlighted layered air defenses, dispersed deployments, and mobile units to reduce vulnerability to early strikes.
Societal resilience, Lin said, is equally critical. “Modern conflict focuses on society as much as on conventional battlefields,” he explained. He pointed to Taiwan’s redundancy measures, from power to communications, as examples of reinforcing infrastructure.
International coordination forms another pillar. “For Beijing, a successful invasion will look plausible only if it expects the international reaction to be slow and disjointed,” he warned.
He explained that strengthening peacetime cooperation, improving interoperability, and setting up rapid economic response mechanisms are critical, along with clear communication channels to avoid miscalculations.
Lin concluded that integrating military readiness, societal continuity, and international partnerships are key to building a comprehensive deterrent aimed at preserving peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.
