00:00 To the sound of a military tune, people file in and out of Xinbin Naval Base in southern
00:06 Taiwan.
00:07 The Navy has opened its doors to show people how it plans to protect them.
00:12 They're showing off home-produced military hardware and this ship is the star of the
00:16 show, making its public debut.
00:19 The Yushan is a new amphibious transport vessel, the biggest of its kind Taiwan has ever made.
00:25 Steel worker Wang Hongjun brought his daughter and nephew to take a look.
00:31 I've come to support our national defence as we face threats from China.
00:36 Taiwan's awareness of the need for self-defence is relatively weak, but if the military often
00:40 holds events like this, it's a chance for people to become familiar with the Navy, as
00:44 well as our own national defence.
00:50 The media are welcome to take the Navy's message around Taiwan and beyond.
00:56 Taiwan's defence ministry has invited media to tour the 150-metre long vessel, which only
01:02 entered service earlier this year.
01:04 The aim?
01:05 To send a message to its people, but also Beijing, that the island democracy is ready
01:10 for war.
01:11 It's a goal that's ever more pressing.
01:14 Chinese military intimidation of Taiwan has soared in recent years.
01:17 And Taiwan's ships may face this.
01:20 China's aircraft carrier the Shandong, which recently transited the Taiwan Strait.
01:25 It's a ship that dwarfs any in Taiwan's Navy.
01:29 Taiwan's new home-produced gear may look flashy, but the gulf in defence capability with Beijing
01:34 is vast, and it's widening.
01:37 That stark imbalance worries many in Taiwan, including Tsai Tung-lin.
01:42 He used to be a soldier, but left the army, sceptical it was battle-ready.
01:46 "Regular units put too much emphasis on duties unrelated to war.
01:54 I'm worried the army wouldn't be able to fight a war in its current state."
01:58 He decided to do what he could to draw attention to his worries.
02:05 So he walked around Taiwan's mainland, all the way around.
02:09 The 1,100-kilometre walk took 48 days.
02:13 It was a one-man warning of the threat posed by Beijing.
02:17 "Taiwan has always been in a more precarious situation than other countries.
02:24 For people here to have no concept of national defence is really dangerous."
02:30 The government is taking some action to make people feel safer.
02:34 From next year, Taiwan will extend the conscription period for men from four months to one year.
02:40 But a more fundamental message underpins events like this.
02:44 A reminder to Taiwan's people of the threat that made building warships like this necessary
02:50 in the first place.
02:57 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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