TAIPEI -- Taiwan president-elect Tsai Ing-wen is planning the island's most ambitious defense policy overhaul in two decades. At the crux of her plan is a focus on boosting asymmetric warfare capabilities that would allow Taiwan to maintain control of its skies and waters in case of attack by the vast forces of China's People's Liberation Army.
She envisions Taiwan manufacturing its own submarines, potentially with assistance from the U.S. or Japan, and creating a dedicated cyber defense command. Tsai's Democratic Progressive Party estimates the plan would create business opportunities worth 250 billion Taiwan dollars ($7.6 billion) and create 8,000 jobs by 2020.