Gabriel Honrada
China is refining a strategy to conquer Taiwan by weaponizing its critical infrastructure and transforming power plants, ports and data hubs into pressure points for systemic collapse, according to a Chinese military journal.
The South China Morning Post (SCMP) reports that China could paralyze Taiwan without firing a shot by targeting key infrastructure—an approach likened to the “butterfly effect” in the Naval and Merchant Ships journal.
The article identifies 30 to 40 “super critical” nodes—power, water, communications, and liquified natural gas (LNG) facilities – that, if taken offline, could crash Taiwan’s systems from within.
It cites the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) recent Strait Thunder 2025A drill, which simulated an attack on Taiwan’s largest LNG depot, highlighting China’s growing tactical fixation on energy vulnerabilities.
It claims that a well-timed strike, especially during peak conditions such as typhoons or electoral events, could rapidly destabilize Taiwan, eroding resistance and forcing capitulation under minimal military cost.
Proposed methods include precision strikes, cyberattacks, electromagnetic pulses and engineered “pseudo-natural disasters.” While the article may not reflect official doctrine, its scenarios mirror PLA drills and echo rising rhetoric around “forced reunification.”
Taiwan’s dependence on imported energy leaves it strategically exposed. The US, its chief security partner, opposes unilateral moves to change the status quo and continues arms sales to shore up Taiwan’s defenses.
As cross-strait tensions rise, China’s evolving doctrine signals a broader shift toward asymmetric warfare, victory through pressure, not open battle.
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