Taiwan is rebuilding its military around cheap, scattered weapons instead of big-ticket hardware — bad news for any Chinese invasion plan, good news for deterrence.

• The lessons come from Ukraine and Iran, where cheap drones and missiles made a stronger enemy pay far more than expected.
• Taiwan plans to build over a thousand anti-ship missiles by year-end and reach 100,000 drones a month within four and a half years, half of them for export.
• Geography helps: the strait is wide, good weather windows are rare, and few beaches suit a big landing — so swarming sea drones and shore-based missiles can turn the crossing into a kill zone.
• A new coastal command will tie drones, mobile missiles, and artillery into one defense line.
• The bigger danger may be a blockade — cutting undersea cables and communications could cause panic and paralyze markets and government without a single soldier landing.

Outlook: Expect Taiwan to keep pouring money into drones, backup satellite links, and hardened networks, betting that being hard to blind and hard to invade is what keeps Beijing from trying.