TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — China has placed another permanent structure in Taiwan’s exclusive economic zone, Ingenispace COO Jason Wang and analysts Pei-Jhen Wu and Marvin Bernardo said in a Jamestown China Brief report published Thursday.
In June, China National Offshore Oil Corporation installed its Haiyou Anlan offshore wind turbine, which is supported by a tension-leg platform. It is located approximately 80 kilometers from Taiwan’s Dongsha Island, according to Ingenispace. The turbine began operations Friday.
The offshore wind turbine is part of a larger network of existing Chinese semi-permanent oil and gas structures in the area north of Dongsha Island, a strategic Taiwanese military and maritime law enforcement base, Ingenispace said. The firm said the wind turbine strengthens China’s anti-access/area-denial capabilities.
Despite Taiwan’s protests and demands that China halt construction and activities in the area, Beijing continues to operate there without hindrance from Taipei, per Ingenispace. “Taiwan’s inability to prevent CNOOC’s extractive industry only furthers the normalization of (China’s) administrative control over disputed territory.”
China is steadily weakening Taiwan’s control over its territory and resources while building infrastructure that can be used for both civilian and military purposes, Ingenispace said.
China could use maritime structures such as floating turbines to extend its influence or as bases for “sensors, systems, and personnel—especially in the context of unmanned systems warfare,” Ingenispace said. A 16-megawatt wind turbine could generate enough power to support the launch of cheap, mass-produced Chinese drones toward Taiwan during a conflict, it added.
The structures could also help Beijing justify and strengthen its territorial claims, according to Ingenispace.
Ingenispace reported in September that China had placed 12 permanent and semi-permanent structures near Dongsha Island, including seven oil rig structures, three storage vessels, and two semi-submersible oil platforms. It later removed one rig, Nanhaierhao, and added several more in its place.
The structures inside Taiwan’s EEZ pose a threat to regional and global trade, the company said at the time. “Nearly 50% of trade goes through the major sea lanes Taiwan’s EEZ protects.”
The Chinese military is rapidly developing underwater, surface, and aerial drones, aiming to use large swarms to overwhelm traditional defenses and disrupt enemy drone swarms, Ingenispace said. It is also improving its ability to track and potentially target key shipping routes, strengthening its end-to-end “kill web” capabilities.
Countries including Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, and Vietnam have protested encroaching Chinese oil rigs and other structures near their EEZs and have tried to counter Beijing’s salami tactics, according to Ingenispace. China currently has more than 30 permanent structures in disputed waters in the Indo-Pacific, the company said.
Ingenispace said that if countries along the First Island Chain do not work together to stop China from building more dual-use structures in their waters, Beijing will keep pushing forward. “More structures are already planned in the coming months, with some already under construction,” it warned.
