00:01On Taiwan's Pankhu Islands, preparations for a potential conflict with China are extending
00:07beyond military bases. At Ho Chi Wa's local auto workshop, civilian mechanics worked alongside
00:14Taiwanese soldiers, practicing emergency repairs on military vehicles.
00:20Maintaining vehicle readiness during peacetime is intended to ensure that,
00:24should the unfortunate event of a war ever arise, the military's maintenance capabilities and those
00:30of the civilian sector can be brought together, providing sufficient deterrence to prevent
00:34external threats from endangering us.
00:43The drills are part of broader efforts to strengthen Pankhu's resilience.
00:47The archipelago sits roughly 30 miles off Taiwan's west coast in the Taiwan Strait,
00:53between Taiwan and China. Military experts and Taiwanese officials say the islands would
01:00likely face the first wave of any Chinese invasion attempt. That strategic location makes Pankhu
01:07a key defensive outpost. Su Zhu Yun is a director at the Institute for National Defense and Security
01:13Research.
01:15Pankhu is effectively Taiwan's Midway Island, and the same applies from the perspective of
01:19the Chinese People's Liberation Army. If the PLA tried to attack Taiwan while bypassing Pankhu,
01:26its rear could be struck by missiles from Pankhu. That forces the PLA to attack Pankhu before it can
01:33attack Taiwan.
01:35Taiwan's defense ministry declined to comment on combat plans for Pankhu.
01:39A Chinese defense ministry spokesperson told reporters earlier this year that Taiwan's plans to fortify
01:46the islands were increasingly absurd and delusional, and that Taipei faced total destruction if it
01:52provoked war. During Taiwan's annual Hong Kong exercises earlier this month, troops rehearsed defending
02:00the islands against an amphibious assault. Before dawn, soldiers loaded ammunition into guns and tanks
02:06and prepared armored vehicles for a drill. As daylight broke, tanks and artillery fired toward targets
02:13at sea. But military preparations are only one part of Taiwan's efforts to strengthen Pankhu's defenses.
02:22Hussie Township Chief Chen Chen Cheng says residents are being encouraged to prepare for emergencies,
02:27stock supplies, and support civil defense efforts.
02:32We all need to prepare drinking water at home, as well as dry goods, canned food, and other supplies.
02:42At the very least, I tell them they should have enough for more than half a month.
02:46We absolutely need to have a sense of crisis.
02:51Opinions among residents differ on how they would respond in a crisis.
02:56Some say they would resist.
02:58If my homeland were invaded, there's no way I could just stand by and watch them advance,
03:03is there? And the communist way of thinking is genuinely very different from ours.
03:07In their system, a single decision can determine whether someone lives or dies.
03:11That's why I believe I would resist to the very end.
03:14Others worry the islands could become isolated if China imposed the blockade.
03:19I think Pankhu residents would surrender, to be honest. Because if there really were no other option,
03:25and the choice was between starving to death and being killed, you'd probably think being killed would be quicker.
03:31So people might think, let's surrender first. If they give us food, we'll eat, and then see what happens next.
03:38For now, Pankhu is best known as a tourist destination, drawing visitors to its beaches and temples.
03:44But as tensions across the Taiwan Strait persist, both soldiers and civilians here are preparing for the possibility
03:52that these islands could one day become Taiwan's front line.
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