Taiwan Is Adopting A Radical New Defense Concept

Taiwan navy fast attack boats take part in a military drill outside a naval base in Kaohsiung port, southern Taiwan, January 27, 2016. Reuters

Drew Thompson, War On The Rocks: Hope on the Horizon: Taiwan’s Radical New Defense Concept

Taiwan is doomed. The numbers prove it. Or so we are told. Every year the U.S. Department of Defense publishes the statistics. Taiwan’s defense budget is $10 billion. China’s is $154 billion. There are almost a million active duty soldiers in the People’s Liberation Army versus 140,000 ground troops across the strait. Taiwan has 420 fighters versus China’s 1,490 and 23 ships versus China’s 240. Taiwan has two modern attack submarines, while China has 52. The cross-strait military balance seems hopeless and the conventional wisdom is that the threat of U.S. intervention in the event of an invasion is the only thing deterring Beijing from reunifying the island by force. In the face of such overwhelming odds, however, Taiwan’s military has not given up. In fact, they’ve greatly improved their chances for survival.

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WNU Editor: They are an island. So employ the same tactics that Great Britain used when facing the prospect of an imminent German invasion in 1940 (i.e. the cost would be so high, that it would not be worth it).