________
Source: The American Conservative
A hot war with China over the island would be a military, historic, and strategic disaster for the United States.
Source: The American Conservative
A hot war with China over the island would be a military, historic, and strategic disaster for the United States.
(By Novikov Aleksey/Shutterstock)
DECEMBER 2, 2020 | By LYLE GOLDSTEIN
With the U.S. presidential election in full swing over the summer and fall, Americans could be excused for hardly having noticed the rising tension across the Taiwan Strait on the other side of the planet. Recent developments, however, threatened to bring a simmering pot up to a full blown kitchen fire and maybe even a three alarm blaze. A Taiwan news outlet breathlessly announced that U.S. Marines were in Taiwan to train their counterparts. This could well be the first time in four decades that Washington has committed forces to the island claimed by China. Such exercises may have previously occurred in secret, but this is the first time these alleged activities have been revealed to the public. Though a denial was subsequently issued by the Pentagon, sparks relating to this public relations blunder may portend the real possibility of a superpower military clash over Taiwan, possibly even in the coming months.
Allowing the U.S. to be drawn – sleepwalking, as it were – into a major conflict over Taiwan would be an error of epochal proportions by the U.S. foreign policy establishment for three basic reasons: military, historic, and strategic.
On the military side, there is a high likelihood that China could subdue Taiwan in just two weeks. Even more gravely for Americans, there is the distinct possibility that U.S. forces could suffer a major defeat. The logic is simple and involves primarily geography. Taiwan is just 90 miles from Mainland China, but over 6,000 miles from the American mainland. That vast asymmetry means that that the Chinese military can bring far greater firepower into the fight at an early point against U.S. forces at the end of an exceedingly long and tenuous logistics chain.
True, amphibious invasions are inherently difficult, but China has had decades to plan, practice, and prepare its forces. New investments in missiles, rocket artillery, drones, attack aircraft, helicopters, paratroopers, and special forces now make the invasion fully feasible. A very credible blockade option exists as well. U.S. forces would be held in check, such as by anti-ship ballistic missiles. Even the vaunted U.S. submarine force would be confronted by myriad Chinese countermeasures, including sea mines.
Certain ideologues might still argue that all of America’s strength should be deployed, up to and including nuclear weaponry, to save Taiwan. Such an argument could plausibly be made for the Philippines, a beleaguered country that the U.S. attempted to colonize during the early 20th century and one in which tens of thousands of Americans were sacrificed to defend in WW2.
Actually, Taiwanese fought on the side of Japan in the Pacific War. However, there are other critical historical points that Americans need to understand to see why the 1955 Alliance Treaty with Taiwan was later abrogated. Most importantly, they need to realize that Taiwan was formally incorporated into Fujian Province, as part of China, in 1684 – nearly a century prior to the American Revolution. Two centuries later, the island was conquered by the Japanese, which explains how the Taiwanese people ended up on the wrong side of WW2. But President Harry Truman was crystal clear in his 5 Jan 1950 explanation of U.S. policy: "The U.S. has no predatory designs on Formosa [Taiwan], or on any other Chinese territory."
Taiwan did indeed become a protectorate of the U.S. during the 1950s, for a time, including with the deployment of U.S. nuclear weapons to the island. However, these were wisely withdrawn along with all other American soldiers after the Vietnam War, as part of the US-China normalization process. Indeed, the withdrawal of U.S. forces formed the primary condition for normalization. Thus, the reinsertion of U.S. forces onto the island represents a major retrograde step back into the intense and dangerous Cold War of the 1950s. Only this time, China is not an impoverished basket case, but rather an ascendant superpower.
Please go to The American Conservative to read the entire article.
Allowing the U.S. to be drawn – sleepwalking, as it were – into a major conflict over Taiwan would be an error of epochal proportions by the U.S. foreign policy establishment for three basic reasons: military, historic, and strategic.
On the military side, there is a high likelihood that China could subdue Taiwan in just two weeks. Even more gravely for Americans, there is the distinct possibility that U.S. forces could suffer a major defeat. The logic is simple and involves primarily geography. Taiwan is just 90 miles from Mainland China, but over 6,000 miles from the American mainland. That vast asymmetry means that that the Chinese military can bring far greater firepower into the fight at an early point against U.S. forces at the end of an exceedingly long and tenuous logistics chain.
True, amphibious invasions are inherently difficult, but China has had decades to plan, practice, and prepare its forces. New investments in missiles, rocket artillery, drones, attack aircraft, helicopters, paratroopers, and special forces now make the invasion fully feasible. A very credible blockade option exists as well. U.S. forces would be held in check, such as by anti-ship ballistic missiles. Even the vaunted U.S. submarine force would be confronted by myriad Chinese countermeasures, including sea mines.
Certain ideologues might still argue that all of America’s strength should be deployed, up to and including nuclear weaponry, to save Taiwan. Such an argument could plausibly be made for the Philippines, a beleaguered country that the U.S. attempted to colonize during the early 20th century and one in which tens of thousands of Americans were sacrificed to defend in WW2.
Actually, Taiwanese fought on the side of Japan in the Pacific War. However, there are other critical historical points that Americans need to understand to see why the 1955 Alliance Treaty with Taiwan was later abrogated. Most importantly, they need to realize that Taiwan was formally incorporated into Fujian Province, as part of China, in 1684 – nearly a century prior to the American Revolution. Two centuries later, the island was conquered by the Japanese, which explains how the Taiwanese people ended up on the wrong side of WW2. But President Harry Truman was crystal clear in his 5 Jan 1950 explanation of U.S. policy: "The U.S. has no predatory designs on Formosa [Taiwan], or on any other Chinese territory."
Taiwan did indeed become a protectorate of the U.S. during the 1950s, for a time, including with the deployment of U.S. nuclear weapons to the island. However, these were wisely withdrawn along with all other American soldiers after the Vietnam War, as part of the US-China normalization process. Indeed, the withdrawal of U.S. forces formed the primary condition for normalization. Thus, the reinsertion of U.S. forces onto the island represents a major retrograde step back into the intense and dangerous Cold War of the 1950s. Only this time, China is not an impoverished basket case, but rather an ascendant superpower.
Please go to The American Conservative to read the entire article.
________
Here is the catalyst:
Related:
This is not good news:
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.