Recently, China had launched aggressive and unprecedented military exercises near Taiwan in response to US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to the island that Beijing claims as part of its territory.
As China upped the ante by announcing more live military exercises, Taiwan also expressed battle-readiness, saying that it was preparing for war without seeking war.
Among the most potent tactic come up by Taiwan is an asymmetrical warfare method known as the “porcupine strategy (doctrine),” which aims to make the invasion very difficult and costly for the enemy.
The “porcupine doctrine” was proposed in 2008 by US Naval War College research professor William S Murray.
It is a strategy of asymmetric warfare focused on fortifying a weak state’s defences to exploit the enemy’s weaknesses rather than taking on its strengths.
It is about building defences that would ensure that Taiwan could be attacked and damaged but not defeated, at least without unacceptably high costs and risks.
Three defensive layers have been recognised in the porcupine approach:
- The outer layer is about intelligence and reconnaissance to ensure defence forces are fully prepared.
- Behind this come plans for guerrilla warfare at sea with aerial support from sophisticated aircraft provided by the US.
- The innermost layer relies on the geography and demography of the island.
The ultimate objective of this doctrine is that of surviving and assimilating an aerial offensive well enough to organise a wall of fire that will prevent the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) from successfully invading.
While the outer surveillance layer would work to prevent a surprise attack, the second one would make it difficult for China to land its troops on the island in the face of a guerrilla campaign at sea using “agile, missile-armed small ships, supported by helicopters and missile launchers”.
