WASHINGTON, Oct 5, (AP): US military officials and analysts have for years warned of possible armed attacks or blockades by China on Taiwan, but a report released Friday has raised a red flag about possible non-military tactics that could be used effectively against the self-governed island. Beijing could wage an economic and cyber war to force a surrender from Taiwan without direct use of military power, the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a Washington-based research institute, said in the report.

Such a likely but overlooked scenario, it said, poses a challenge for the US, the island's biggest ally, and suggested Washington make preparations for how best to respond. FDD researchers teamed up with banking and finance experts in Taiwan over two days earlier this year to simulate likely non-military moves by Beijing, such as disinformation campaigns and cyber attacks on infrastructure. The exercise was the first of its kind and seeks to fill an analytical gap, FDD said. "Modern globalization has created more economic connections that China can exploit to achieve coercive aims," the report said.

"Technological innovation created even more digital connections, offering more possibilities for coercion, including through the targeting of critical infrastructure.” Beijing has vowed to take Taiwan, by force if necessary, although Chinese President Xi Jinping has promised to make "utmost efforts” to do so peacefully. Taiwan split from the mainland in 1949 during a civil war when the defeated nationalist government fled to the island.

Tensions have flared in the Taiwan Strait since 2016 when Beijing began to increase diplomatic and military pressure on the island, prompting the US to step up its support. Washington, which is obligated under US law to provide Taipei with sufficient military hardware for its defense, has argued that it is in the US interest to keep peace in the strait and to stand with democracies such as Taiwan to maintain the rules-based world order. Beijing has demanded the US stay out of Taiwan, arguing it is a purely domestic affair.