OPINION | Mines are the key to protecting Taiwan's ports

The waters around Taiwan are ideal for mines, said Chris O’Flaherty, a retired Royal Navy captain with deep experience in mine warfare.

"The conditions of Taiwan are much less conducive to [mine countermeasures] than most areas of the world," he explained. There’s, "a lot of rock, and a lot of fast currents, thus MCM [mine clearing] will be slow."

And Taiwanese anti-ship missile batteries could complicate any mine-clearing effort by shooting at the ships doing it.