Full Chinese invasion would be very difficult: Taiwan's Defence Ministry

Taiwan's Defense Ministry said in its latest threat assessment Monday that a full Chinese invasion of Taiwan with troops landed and ports and airports seized would be very difficult to achieve.

Beijing claims the democratically-ruled Taiwan as its own territory with tensions between the two rising as China steps up military activities near Taipei to pressure it to accept Chinese rule.

Taiwan's Defense Ministry, in a report to lawmakers, said China's transport capacity was limited at present, and would not be able to land all its forces in one go. It would also have to rely on ships that would need to use port facilities and transport aircraft that would need airports.

"However, the nation's military strongly defends ports and airports, and they will not be easy to occupy in a short time. Landing operations will face extremely high risks," the ministry said in its report, a copy of which was reviewed by Reuters.

China's logistics face challenges too, as any landing forces would need to be resupplied with weapons, food and medicines across the Taiwan Strait that separates the two, it added.

However, experts say that China has other means to subjugate Taiwan short of a full out invasion, such as a blockade or targeted missile attack, according to Reuters.

Taiwan's government is planning an extra $8.7 billion over the next five years in military spending over the next five years, that money going towards naval weapons mostly.