Military strength is a necessity for peace and the countries like Taiwan threatened by China need to maintain their own deterrence against invasion. On the other hand by proposing more arms for a “breakaway” province we gain more bargaining chips to use with China on issues like North Korea.
Taiwan is outnumbered and can’t compete military wise with China. Taiwan doesn’t have a possible way to stop China is they come. And like I said in another post, they don’t have a deterrent now and the purchase of a few f-35 aircraft is not going to have any effect.
In 1945, following the end of World War II, the Republic of China (ROC), led by the Kuomintang (KMT), took control of Taiwan. In 1949, after losing control of mainland China in the Chinese Civil War, the ROC government under the KMT withdrew to Taiwan and Chiang Kai-shek declared martial law.
In many ways, the concern over Taiwan is well-placed. China covets the island far more than any other piece of real estate, including the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands. For CCP leaders and many ordinary Chinese, Taiwan is one of the vast remaining vestiges of the country’s century of humiliation. Acquiring Taiwan would also significantly enhance the PLA’s ability to project power outwardly. Despite improvements in cross-Strait relations in recent years, China has refused to rule out the possibility of invasion.
So I still feel you wake the giant by the purchase of the aircraft.