Why U.S. Military Needs Taiwan -- Mark Stokes & Russell Hsiao, The DiplomatAirSea Battle shouldn’t only be about the United States. Working closely with Taiwan could pay dividends and help ensure a stable military balance in the Asia-Pacific.
U.S. Representative Randy Forbes’s (R-Va) article in The Diplomat last month entitled “America’s Pacific Air-Sea Battle Vision” called upon Congress to support the Pentagon’s vision for Air-Sea Battle – a concept designed to improve the joint and combined ability of air and naval forces to project power in the face of anti-access and area denial challenges. More specifically, Rep. Forbes pointed out that the United States should “work to bring our allies into this effort.”
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My Comment: In any hypothetical conflict with China, Taiwan .... because of it's strategic position .... will always play a pivotal role in both US and Chinese strategy .... pivotal enough that it will probably be the first target for the Chinese if they should decide to start such a conflict.
2 comments:
This is what I have a problem with and this is the very reason why people view the US the way they do. It doesn't matter who's in charge in the Oval office, this type of aggressive influence drive by the US military is dictated on other levels that I believe have always gone above any Presidential head.
This only sends out the wrong signals to China, it is also a bad move on the US side of things when they do this purely out of the possibility of a hypothetical conflict. I'm sure China hasn't forgotten what the US did in regards to selling arms to Taiwan...
Actions speak louder than words, which is why diplomacy will never work with China when such things like this happen.
This sums it up nicely - "At least one driver for rethinking U.S. defense strategy is the growing ability of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to complicate U.S. ability to project joint power and operate in the Asia-Pacific region. These emerging PLA A2/AD capabilities not only could complicate U.S. ability to operate, but also imperil regional powers’ ability to deny the PLA air superiority and command of the seas."
This is essentially two Powers trying to seize an advantage that they feel is going to put them into a disadvantage, if they don't...
The Chinese will not allow a 'south-korea' take place in Taiwan, and it will only complicate matters if the US continues with this outdated policy.
This isn't about the lack of human rights in China. It isn't about how the Chinese conduct the governing of their country. It is about global stage politics and trying to keep a stable managed political environment. The US will go a long way to destabilising that further if such actions were to take place. It is also, and very much, about the US keeping its assets and its influence close at hand, and not spreading that influence to the point that it will interfere with the goals/ambitions of another nation, even if those goals/ambitions aren't always saintly...
Thank you D Plowman for your comment. You have summed up what most people around the world feel about the U.S. .... "we admire the people, but we do not like your government".
As to U.S. foreign policy .... I think this mindset became entrenched during (and after) the Second World War. The U.S. political elites saw what could happen in international affairs if there was no U.S. input .... and the consequences of future conflicts was then deemed unacceptable. This mindset also certainly became prevalent in the Soviet Union, having suffered millions in casualties.
As a result .... for the past 65 years the U.S. has followed a policy of strategic positioning to deter conflicts and to enhance economic ties. Unfortunately .... like the former Soviet Union .... we cannot undertake this policeman's role right now .... and this is why I am very concerned on the future that is now unfolding.
We have had wars .... but we have not had a major massive war since the Second World War. I credit U.S. policy for this, and the alliances and strategic relationships that it has formed. But this is now all breaking down .... and the world that use to exist before the U.S. became a major power is now returning with a vengeance.
The U.S. may (as you put it) wants to "keep its assets and its influence close at hand", but we both know that world trends are going the opposite direction.
On a side note .... I got into these discussions with certain senior Chinese officials who were my hosts (on a provincial level) when I was living in China (Fujian province) in the mid to late 1980s. They admired U.S. economic strength, it's culture, and it's freedoms, but they had disdain for it's foreign and political policy. I always argued on a different tack .... I said that they should not have this view. I argued that Chinese culture cannot be beaten .... it is thousands of years old, and it has survived even when faced with great adversity and destruction. But politically .... both nationally and internationally .... the Chinese are very young and immature. On the flip side .... American culture is very very young .... but politically the U.S. is very very old. That is why today's world trends are alarming to me .... the young are taking over, and the old .... like the U.S., Britain, Russia, etc... they are now being swept aside.
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