Preparing for a Chinese blockade, Taiwan maps out wartime food plans

By Yimou Lee and Ben Blanchard

Taiwan's government offered rare details on Tuesday of its wartime food plan, saying it is taking monthly inventories of crucial supplies like rice and making sure they are properly stored across the island in case of a Chinese blockade.

China, which views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, has over the past fives years staged almost daily military activities around the island, including war games that have practised blockades and attacks on ports. Taiwan's government rejects Beijing's sovereignty claims.

China's latest war games around the island, carried out last week, included blockading key ports and areas, and assaulting maritime and ground targets, Beijing said.

In a report to parliament about preparations in case of a Chinese blockade, a copy of which was reviewed by Reuters, Taiwan's agriculture ministry said it has ensured that rice stock piles were above a three-month level as required by law and that food supplies were stored across the island in a bid to "lower attack risks".

The ministry said Taiwan's current rice stocks were enough to support the island for at least seven months and plans on rice rationing through supply stations across the island were being made in case of a food crisis.

During a blockade, more farmland will be used to grow rice, the ministry said, adding it will also prioritise growing sweet potatoes, soy beans and fresh vegetables as well as using more ponds for aquaculture.

In a scenario in which sea fishing is not allowed, the ministry said the island's fish feed inventory will be enough to support fishing in ponds for more than three months.

The ministry said it was planning to set up a task force to ensure food supply safety by taking a monthly inventory of the island's food resources.

Taiwan, a farming powerhouse during Japanese colonial rule from 1895 to 1945, depends on imports for the majority of its food needs as farm land was taken over for factories during rapid industrialisation starting in the 1960s.

Taiwan's food self-sufficiency rate in 2023 dropped to 30.3%, the lowest level in 18 years, according a previous report from the ministry.

In a separate report to parliament on preparations for the same scenario, the National Security Bureau said China's cyber forces were honing their skills to infiltrate key online infrastructure like telecoms in a bid to destabilise Taiwan with misinformation during a conflict with China.

Additionally, over the past two years, China has carried out "joint combat readiness patrols" near Taiwan three to four times per month, the bureau added.

The number of tanker aircraft used for aerial refuelling, landing ships and other forces participating in the training has been gradually increased, it said.

"This underscores that the communist military has continued to escalate its military threat against Taiwan in an effort to establish a blockade and control of our external sea lines of communication," the bureau said.