Posted on 04/29/2018 7:11:57 PM PDT by BBell
Taiwan’s military is scheduled to simulate defending the island from an invasion by mainland China.
The simulation will be part of Taiwan’s annual Han Kuang drills, which begin next week. Citing a statement by the Taiwanese Ministry of Defense, the Japan Times said that “Taiwan will simulate repelling an invading force, emergency repairs of a major air base and using civilian-operated drones as part of military exercises starting next week.” Although the exercise begins then, the Defense Ministry said that the main part of the drill will take place from June 4 to June 8. That part will consist of live-fire exercises practicing “enemy elimination on beaches.” The drills will also practice quickly repairing military air strips that would presumably be targeted by Chinese missile and aircraft early in a conflict.
The statement did not explicitly mention China, according the Japan Times. However, a Taiwanese spokesperson was more direct. “Simply put, the main goal of the drills is to make any Chinese communist military mission to invade Taiwan fail,” said Chen Chung-ch, a spokesperson for the Defense Ministry. Chen added that the exercise will take account of the current capabilities of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), mainland China’s military. “It simulates this year’s situation and we are taking into consideration China’s air and naval movements in the region,” he said. Last year, the Han Kuang drills simulated a PLA attack in 2025, using “F-35 fighters as a parameter in its computerized war games to simulate combat tactics and strategies.”
Although Taiwan holds these drills every year, two things are different about the 2018 edition. First, the Taiwanese Ministry of Defense announced that “civilian resources will also be integrated into this exercise to support military operations” for the first time ever. For instance, civilian construction companies will help in the repair of military airstrips that are destroyed in China’s initial attack. Telecommunications companies in Taiwan will also assist in maintaining command and control. Taipei is also enlisting civilian drone companies to help with surveillance and targeting. “It’s not just soldiers’ duties to protect the country. Everyone has the responsibility since our defense budget is limited,” Chen, the Defense Ministry spokesperson, explained.
The other important development surrounding this year’s drills is mainland China has been ramping up military pressure against the island nation, which it considers a rogue province. As previously discussed, the last year and a half or so has seen Beijing repeatedly conducting provocative overflights of Taiwan. More recently, China conducted its largest military drill in recent memory in the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait.
These latest drills centered on China’s first aircraft carrier, Liaoning, and, according to news reports, included forty-eight warships, seventy-six planes and over 10,000 military personnel. PLA newspapers hailed the drills as “the biggest maritime military parade since the foundation of the new China and a heroic display of the PLA Navy in the new era.” Chinese president Xi Jinping presided over part of the drills in the South China Sea.
To underscore the message, Song Zhongping, a frequent military commentator in Chinese state media, said the drills were directed at intimidating Taiwan. “An aircraft carrier formation will play an important role in hypothetical future military operations against Taiwan," Song said. Noting that new drills were taking place east of Taiwan, Song added: “The east side of the island, where the Taiwan army elaborately deploys its forces, will not be safe when confronted with the formation of aircraft carriers of the mainland.”
At the same time, Chinese state media denounced Taiwan’s Han Kuang drills. Xu Guangyu, a retired major general of the People's Liberation Army, told China's Global Times that Tapei uses the drills to unite “Taiwan-independence forces." Xu added: “More importantly, Taiwan also wants to show its muscle to the mainland. But Taiwan's attempt to stack up against the mainland is like throwing an egg against a rock.”
Despite the growing tensions, the Taiwanese people do not seem overly concerned about the prospect of an armed confrontation. A new survey by the Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation—which admittedly was taken before the recent Chinese drills—found that 64.5 percent of respondents do not believe China will invade Taiwan in the foreseeable future, compared to 25.7 percent who viewed that possibility as likely.
The poll also found that Taiwanese citizens have shockingly little faith in their military’s ability to fend off an invasion. According to a news article by Focus Taiwan, “The poll found that 65.4 percent of Taiwanese have no confidence in the country's defense against an attack by China, while 27.1 percent think Taiwan forces can repel any such invasion.” More respondents (47.4 percent) believe the United States will send troops to help defend Taiwan compared to those who view this as unlikely (41 percent).
Ha ha ha ha ha ha.
“They don’t have nukes”
Even though Taiwan was detonating nukes in the early nineteen eighties, they don’t have them now. Evidently.
Just like Israel didn’t have nukes in the fifties, sixties, seventies and eighties...then a two hundred warhead arsenal just magically appeared when the Oslo Accords were negotiated in nineteen ninety-three. Somehow.
A post good for a laugh, like the original article.
Post of the thread.
An amphibious assault remains as the most complicated and risky military operation.
From post World War I through World War II, to Inchon in Korea, the United States Marine Corp developed and refined the doctrine, tactics, techniques, and procedures for amphibious assault.
Our Marines remain as the most capable amphibious assault force in the world. But I doubt any Marine today would recommend a deliberate, full-scale, amphibious assault without a significant increase in the size of the Corps and our amphibious lift capability as well as extensive preparation of the battlefield, including air, surface, subsurface, and cyber superiority (preferably supremacy).
You need significantly superior forces attacking the landing zone, and you need to be prepared to accept far higher casualties than the defender.
Never say never, as few thought Inchon would be possible or successful.
But an amphibious invasion is far more likely to end up like the Gallipoli Campaign or the Bay of Pigs invasion than be successful.
My dad served during this crisis. His vessel, the USS John McCain, escorted Taiwanese supply vessels carrying ordnance to those islands.
Using artillery, the Chicoms sank the Taiwanese vessel in front to them. My dad said his vessel was ordered to not stop, and they passed hundreds of screaming, drowning men.
One of the forgotten battles in the communist drive to conquer the world.
What I remember from a 1958 Nat Geo article were women & children emerging from caves for the first time after the ChiCom shelling subsided. They were joyful to be breathing fresh air for the first time in months.
“The Republic of China (Taiwan) denies having any weapons of mass destruction. There is no evidence of Taiwan possessing any chemical, biological or nuclear weapons, although it has pursued nuclear weapons in the past.”
If Taiwan has nukes and the spine to use them, more power to them.
Even then they would still be up against a bigger foe, which is relatively insensitive to casualties.
As I said before, if the PRC marshalls a credible threat, then makes an offer, Taiwan might accept it.
“Even then they would still be up against a bigger foe, which is relatively insensitive to casualties.”
They’d be very sensitive to losing the Three Gorges Dam.
L
There is a tiny nation where the Middle East abutts Africa which claimed to have no nukes for decades. Even though we knew they did, and in that case we hadn’t (intentionally ) provided them with better designs.
If the mainland does a nuclear tango on the coast, what will India do at that time?
And with that going on, what would China’s neighbors to the north do?
In Sumary:
China hasn’t behaved in such away as to have appreciative neighbors.
China has multiple borders. There is no “one at a time” in war.
If a nation with that many people combined with that record of brutality is invading, it is a given that nuclear arsenals will be deployed. Only people across the sea can think stupid thought such as “these people who dismember each other to sell body parts won’t exterminate me and my family.”
That’s good info. Every time we were on stand by for the next flight, it was always a hard stare-down on passengers LOL. I’m sure we wont just stand idly by while the Chinks get another foothold in the Pacific. We stop them at the Spratleys and they know we’ll kick their ass if they do something stupid, especially with Trump as prezzy.
Ancient WWII japanese rifles aren’t quite up to snuff. That’s what most of the Taiwanese have “trained”with.
Actually my wife trained on an M14 - but that was 30 years ago.
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