A Chinese blockade could cripple Taiwan’s electricity, recent war games suggest:
“Energy is the weakest element in Taiwan’s resilience against coercion,” warned the report by the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies. “The overwhelming preponderance of energy must be imported and is thus vulnerable to a blockade.”
China could supplement a blockade with attacks on Taiwan’s electrical grid, as Russia has done with some success in Ukraine.
“Total electricity production might be reduced to 20 percent of pre-blockade electricity levels,” CSIS said. At that level, all manufacturing ceases – including computer chips vital to the U.S. and the global economy.
These conclusions came from a series of 26 war games run by CSIS to test a blockade of Taiwan, an attractive option for Beijing that offers the prospect of Taiwan agreeing to “reunify” with China, without the need for a bloody and risky Chinese amphibious invasion.
[…]
Taiwan can also reduce its dependence on imported energy. This could include boosting its reserves of oil, natural gas and coal, and even reopening its last nuclear plant, which shut down in May. Meanwhile, the island’s electrical grid could be hardened, including stockpiles of spare parts such as transformers and turbines.
For its part, the U.S. could increase its air transport capacity for a Berlin 1948-style airlift. While insufficient to meet all of Taiwan’s needs, “in some circumstances, an airlift could have a powerful moral effect and provide some breathing room,” CSIS said. In addition, the U.S. Navy will need to improve its capability for convoy escort.
They shut down their last nuclear reactor in May?
A lot of their generation capacity is on the east coast close to China as well.
Hands up everyone who doesn’t really care about Taiwan. If they closed down their last nuclear reactor, with no plans to build another, they deserve everything that’s coming to them.
Again, yet another delusional plan for keeping the Taiwan colony. A majority of voters in the last election rejected the independence party, which lost its parliamentary majority.
Just as North Korea will not attack Seoul, China will not attack any Taiwanese infrastructure. They want these countries intact.
Some US officials have stated that the US itself would destroy Taiwanese infrastructure, especially TSMC, if China occupied Taiwan. Presumable, the US would do so even if the reunification were peacefu.
“They shut down their last nuclear reactor in May?”
Hmm. Considering the situation… maybe they were afraid of being hit with a nuclear false flag?
“A lot of their generation capacity is on the east coast close to China…”
The PRC is to the north-west. The south-east of Taiwan is as far away from the PRC as it can be. You may have meant “on the west coast” which would make more sense, because the west coast of Taiwan has most of the ports and cities.
Various people in Taiwan’s government keep talking about shutting down nuclear power. Shutdowns would be popular with many scientifically illiterate voters. However, the basic rule of Taiwanese politics is that whenever you think something has changed, it soon turns out that nothing has changed.
According to HallucinationDotGPT, Taiwan operates three nuclear power plants:
Kepco Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) – This is Taiwan’s first nuclear power plant, located in the northern part of the island, near the coastal city of New Taipei. It has two reactors, which are still operational.
Maanshan Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) – Located in the southern part of Taiwan, this plant has two reactors and also remains active. It’s one of the key sources of nuclear power for the island.
Chinshan Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) – This plant has been operating for several decades and houses two reactors, although one of the reactors has been scheduled for decommissioning.
https://focustaiwan.tw/politics/202508110015
Says the plants were in fact shut down and they would only be restarted if people vote for it.
My huge pro-nuclear bias clouds my objectivity in this matter.