{"id":37779,"date":"2026-04-02T17:44:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T09:44:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/2026\/04\/02\/taiwan-to-strengthen-pratas-islands-defences-as-china-steps-up-pressure\/"},"modified":"2026-04-03T17:01:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T09:01:11","slug":"taiwan-to-strengthen-pratas-islands-defences-as-china-steps-up-pressure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/2026\/04\/02\/taiwan-to-strengthen-pratas-islands-defences-as-china-steps-up-pressure\/","title":{"rendered":"Taiwan to strengthen Pratas islands&#8217; defences as China steps up pressure"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Taiwan will strengthen its defences of the Pratas as China steps up its activities around the islands which lie at the top end of the South China Sea, the minister in charge of Taiwan&#8217;s coastguard said on Thursday.<br \/>Lying roughly between southern Taiwan and Hong Kong, the Pratas are seen by some security experts as vulnerable to Chinese attack due to their distance &#8211; more than 400 km (250 miles) &#8211; from mainland Taiwan.<br \/>The Pratas, an atoll which is also a Taiwanese national park, are only lightly defended by Taiwan, and its coastguard has that responsibility rather than the military. China claims the Pratas, and Taiwan, as its own territory.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Taiwan will strengthen its defences of the Pratas as China steps up its activities around the islands which lie at the top end of the South China Sea, the minister in charge of Taiwan&#8217;s coastguard said on Thursday.Lying roughly between southern Taiwan and Hong Kong, the Pratas are seen by some security experts as vulnerable [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37779","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Taiwan to strengthen Pratas islands&#039; defences as China steps up pressure - Metro Plus<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/2026\/04\/02\/taiwan-to-strengthen-pratas-islands-defences-as-china-steps-up-pressure\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Taiwan to strengthen Pratas islands&#039; defences as China steps up pressure - Metro Plus\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Taiwan will strengthen its defences of the Pratas as China steps up its activities around the islands which lie at the top end of the South China Sea, the minister in charge of Taiwan&#8217;s coastguard said on Thursday.Lying roughly between southern Taiwan and Hong Kong, the Pratas are seen by some security experts as vulnerable [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/2026\/04\/02\/taiwan-to-strengthen-pratas-islands-defences-as-china-steps-up-pressure\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Metro Plus\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-04-02T09:44:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-03T09:01:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Metro Admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Metro Admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/multimetro.hk\\\/plus\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/02\\\/taiwan-to-strengthen-pratas-islands-defences-as-china-steps-up-pressure\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/multimetro.hk\\\/plus\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/02\\\/taiwan-to-strengthen-pratas-islands-defences-as-china-steps-up-pressure\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Metro Admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/multimetro.hk\\\/plus\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6bbe2f487494b6f04d542440127c7895\"},\"headline\":\"Taiwan to strengthen Pratas islands&#8217; defences as China steps up pressure\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-02T09:44:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-03T09:01:11+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/multimetro.hk\\\/plus\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/02\\\/taiwan-to-strengthen-pratas-islands-defences-as-china-steps-up-pressure\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":121,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/multimetro.hk\\\/plus\\\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/multimetro.hk\\\/plus\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/02\\\/taiwan-to-strengthen-pratas-islands-defences-as-china-steps-up-pressure\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/multimetro.hk\\\/plus\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/02\\\/taiwan-to-strengthen-pratas-islands-defences-as-china-steps-up-pressure\\\/\",\"name\":\"Taiwan to strengthen Pratas islands' defences as China steps up pressure - Metro Plus\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/multimetro.hk\\\/plus\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-02T09:44:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-03T09:01:11+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/multimetro.hk\\\/plus\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/02\\\/taiwan-to-strengthen-pratas-islands-defences-as-china-steps-up-pressure\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/multimetro.hk\\\/plus\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/02\\\/taiwan-to-strengthen-pratas-islands-defences-as-china-steps-up-pressure\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/multimetro.hk\\\/plus\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/02\\\/taiwan-to-strengthen-pratas-islands-defences-as-china-steps-up-pressure\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/multimetro.hk\\\/plus\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Taiwan to strengthen Pratas islands&#8217; defences as China steps up pressure\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/multimetro.hk\\\/plus\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/multimetro.hk\\\/plus\\\/\",\"name\":\"Metro Plus\",\"description\":\"Metro Plus\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/multimetro.hk\\\/plus\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/multimetro.hk\\\/plus\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/multimetro.hk\\\/plus\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Metro Plus\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/multimetro.hk\\\/plus\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/multimetro.hk\\\/plus\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/multimetro.hk\\\/plus\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/09\\\/cropped-metroplus1044.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/multimetro.hk\\\/plus\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/09\\\/cropped-metroplus1044.png\",\"width\":240,\"height\":169,\"caption\":\"Metro Plus\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/multimetro.hk\\\/plus\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/multimetro.hk\\\/plus\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6bbe2f487494b6f04d542440127c7895\",\"name\":\"Metro Admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/406741887e2b499d9f2b2d4de7792c34f5c1bdcb01722828c2466332139b8510?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/406741887e2b499d9f2b2d4de7792c34f5c1bdcb01722828c2466332139b8510?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/406741887e2b499d9f2b2d4de7792c34f5c1bdcb01722828c2466332139b8510?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Metro Admin\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/multimetro.hk\\\/plus\\\/author\\\/metroadmin\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Taiwan to strengthen Pratas islands' defences as China steps up pressure - Metro Plus","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/2026\/04\/02\/taiwan-to-strengthen-pratas-islands-defences-as-china-steps-up-pressure\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Taiwan to strengthen Pratas islands' defences as China steps up pressure - Metro Plus","og_description":"Taiwan will strengthen its defences of the Pratas as China steps up its activities around the islands which lie at the top end of the South China Sea, the minister in charge of Taiwan&#8217;s coastguard said on Thursday.Lying roughly between southern Taiwan and Hong Kong, the Pratas are seen by some security experts as vulnerable [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/2026\/04\/02\/taiwan-to-strengthen-pratas-islands-defences-as-china-steps-up-pressure\/","og_site_name":"Metro Plus","article_published_time":"2026-04-02T09:44:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-04-03T09:01:11+00:00","author":"Metro Admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Metro Admin","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/2026\/04\/02\/taiwan-to-strengthen-pratas-islands-defences-as-china-steps-up-pressure\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/2026\/04\/02\/taiwan-to-strengthen-pratas-islands-defences-as-china-steps-up-pressure\/"},"author":{"name":"Metro Admin","@id":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/#\/schema\/person\/6bbe2f487494b6f04d542440127c7895"},"headline":"Taiwan to strengthen Pratas islands&#8217; defences as China steps up pressure","datePublished":"2026-04-02T09:44:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-03T09:01:11+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/2026\/04\/02\/taiwan-to-strengthen-pratas-islands-defences-as-china-steps-up-pressure\/"},"wordCount":121,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/#organization"},"articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/2026\/04\/02\/taiwan-to-strengthen-pratas-islands-defences-as-china-steps-up-pressure\/","url":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/2026\/04\/02\/taiwan-to-strengthen-pratas-islands-defences-as-china-steps-up-pressure\/","name":"Taiwan to strengthen Pratas islands' defences as China steps up pressure - Metro Plus","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/#website"},"datePublished":"2026-04-02T09:44:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-03T09:01:11+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/2026\/04\/02\/taiwan-to-strengthen-pratas-islands-defences-as-china-steps-up-pressure\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/2026\/04\/02\/taiwan-to-strengthen-pratas-islands-defences-as-china-steps-up-pressure\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/2026\/04\/02\/taiwan-to-strengthen-pratas-islands-defences-as-china-steps-up-pressure\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Taiwan to strengthen Pratas islands&#8217; defences as China steps up pressure"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/#website","url":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/","name":"Metro Plus","description":"Metro Plus","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/#organization","name":"Metro Plus","url":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/cropped-metroplus1044.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/cropped-metroplus1044.png","width":240,"height":169,"caption":"Metro Plus"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/#\/schema\/person\/6bbe2f487494b6f04d542440127c7895","name":"Metro Admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/406741887e2b499d9f2b2d4de7792c34f5c1bdcb01722828c2466332139b8510?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/406741887e2b499d9f2b2d4de7792c34f5c1bdcb01722828c2466332139b8510?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/406741887e2b499d9f2b2d4de7792c34f5c1bdcb01722828c2466332139b8510?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Metro Admin"},"url":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/author\/metroadmin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37779","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37779"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37779\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37779"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37779"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37779"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}