ウクライナの奮戦が刺激に、「市街戦講習」受ける台湾市民

【新北市ＡＦＰ＝時事】台湾・台北郊外の駐車場で、迷彩戦闘服を着てアサルトライフルを構えた葉さん（４７）は車の陰に身を潜め、周囲をうかがいながら前進の合図を待っている。コードネームは「教授」だ。（写真は台湾・新北市で、市街戦講習会に参加する民間人）
　ただし、葉さんの本業はマーケティングで、手にした銃はモデルガンだ。中国による侵攻という現実的な脅威に備えるため、週末を利用して市街戦講習会に参加している。「参加を決めた最大の理由は、ロシアとウクライナの戦争だ」とＡＦＰに語った。
　中国は台湾を自国の一部と見なし、統一を目指して圧力をかけ続けている。２月にロシアのウラジーミル・プーチン大統領がウクライナ侵攻を命じたことで、多くの台湾人が抱いてきた最も恐ろしい不安が具現化した。
　一方で、ウクライナ軍の奮戦ぶりは葉さんを勇気づけた。適切な戦術を用いれば、台湾もはるかに強大な隣国の侵攻をしのげるかもしれないとの希望が持てた。
　市街戦講習会の主催者によると、受講生は２月以降、４倍近くに増えた。銃器や応急処置の講習会を受講する人も増えている。
■ 危機感
　ウクライナ侵攻以前から台湾では中国に対する不安が高まっていた。講習会主催企業のマックス・チャン最高経営責任者（ＣＥＯ）は、中国軍機が台湾の防空識別圏（ＡＤＩＺ）への進入を繰り返すようになった２０２０年から、台湾人の間では「危機感が高まっている」と話す。
　ＡＦＰのデータによると、同年の中国軍機の進入回数は約３８０回。翌２１年には２倍以上に増え、今年はさらに増える見通しだ。
　米国防総省によると、台湾軍の戦力は、地上兵力８万８０００人、戦車８００台、戦闘機４００機。対する中国軍は、地上兵力１００万人超、戦車６３００台、戦闘機１６００機と圧倒的に上回っている。
　だが、ウクライナの戦いぶりは都市を制圧することの難しさや攻撃側の被害の大きさを浮き彫りにし、こうした戦力差を埋めるための手掛かりをもたらした。台湾の人口２３００万人のほとんどは都市部に住んでいる。
　「攻撃は最大の防御だ」と葉さんは強調する。「はっきり言えば、敵を全滅させ、進撃を食い止めることだ」
■「侵略されたら武器を取る」
　駐車場脇の倉庫では、生まれて初めて拳銃を手にしたルース・ラムさん（３４）が撃ち方を教わっている。
　戦争になったとしても、銃の扱い方を知っていれば自分や家族を守れるかもしれないと考えた。友人と一緒にこれからも射撃の練習を続けるつもりだ。「雨が降る前に傘を用意しないと。いつ何が起こるかは分からないのだから」
　５月に実施された調査では、回答者の６１．４％が「侵略されたら武器を取る」と答えた。
　シンクタンク「台湾世代教育基金会」の陳冠廷執行長は、「侵略者と戦うウクライナ国民の決意が、台湾人の祖国防衛への覚悟を高めている」と指摘する。
　元空挺（くうてい）隊員で「戦闘技術を磨くため」市街戦講習会に参加した林さん（３８）も、「国民が国土を守る強い意志と決意を持って初めて国際社会を動かし、支援してもらうことができる」と言う。
　葉さんは、磨いたスキルを生かす時が必ず来ると考えている。香港を例に挙げ、「次は台湾だ」と言い切った。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2022/07/15-14:47）

Dressed in military camouflage with an assault rifle at the ready, Prof Yeh peers from behind a vehicle in a parking lot outside Taipei, scanning his surroundings and waiting for a signal to advance.
Yeh actually works in marketing, and his weapon is a replica -- but he is spending the weekend attending an urban warfare workshop to prepare for what he sees as the very real threat of a Chinese invasion.
The Russia-Ukraine war is a big reason why I came to this workshop, 47-year-old Yeh, whose call sign during training is Prof, tells AFP during a break between sessions.
When Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his troops to invade Ukraine at the end of February, he gave shape to the darkest fears of many Taiwanese.
The self-governed democracy lives under constant threat from authoritarian China, which views the island as part of its territory and has pledged to take it one day.
But the war in Ukraine has also inspired Yeh.
The resilience of Ukrainian forces has given him hope that with the right tactics, Taiwan too might have a chance defending itself against its much mightier neighbour.
He is not alone -- the organisers of the urban combat course say their students have nearly quadrupled since February. Firearms and first aid courses have also seen increased enrolment.
- 'Sense of crisis' -
Disquiet over China was brewing in Taiwan long before the Russian invasion.
Max Chiang, CEO of the company that organises the workshops, says there has been a heightened sense of crisis among Taiwanese people since 2020, when Chinese warplanes began making regular incursions into the island's air identification zone.
Roughly 380 sorties were recorded that year -- a number that more than doubled in 2021, and is on track to do so again this year, according to an AFP database.
China comprehensively outnumbers Taiwan militarily, with over one million ground force personnel to Taiwan's 88,000, 6,300 tanks compared with 800, and 1,600 fighter jets to 400, according to the US Department of Defence.
But Ukraine has provided a practical blueprint for how to make that disparity matter less.
It has vividly demonstrated how fighting for control of cities can be difficult and costly for attacking forces -- and most of Taiwan's 23 million people live in urban areas.
As Yeh and his 15 teammates run in staggered column formation across the parking lot, stooping behind dilapidated buildings and vehicles to simulate attacks on enemy positions, they are trying to put some of the lessons learned in Ukraine's devastated cities into practice.
The best defence is offence, Yeh emphasises, as instructors in bright reflective vests stand nearby taking notes.
To put it bluntly, annihilate the enemy and stop any enemy advances.
- 'Resolve of the people' -
In a warehouse beside the parking lot, 34-year-old Ruth Lam is learning to fire a handgun for the first time.
Lam, who works at an emergency vehicle lights manufacturer, said that most of her European clients had told her there would not be a war in Ukraine.
But it happened, she says.
She is hoping that knowing how to handle a gun might protect her and her family if there is war, and is planning to continue target practice with friends.
Prepare your umbrella before it rains, she says. We don't know when things are going to happen.
In a survey conducted in May, 61.4 percent of respondents said they were willing to take up arms in the event of an invasion.
The will of the Ukrainian people to fight against aggressors has increased the resolve of Taiwanese to safeguard their homeland, Chen Kuan-ting, CEO of Taiwan think-tank NextGen Foundation, tells AFP.
Lin Ping-yu, a former paratrooper who came to the urban warfare class to brush up on his combat skills, concurs.
Only when a country's citizens have the strong will and determination to protect their land can they convince the international community to come help them, the 38-year-old says.
Yeh believes it is a question of when, not if, they will be called to put their new skills into action.
Citing the example of Hong Kong, where Beijing has moved to consolidate its grip in the last few years, he says simply: Taiwan is next.