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US demands clarity from allies on their role in potential war over Taiwan, FT reports
Reuters via Yahoo ^ | July 12th, 2025 | Unattributed

Posted on 07/12/2025 9:53:53 AM PDT by Mariner

(Reuters) -The Pentagon is urging Japan and Australia to clarify what role they would play if the U.S. and China went to war over Taiwan, the Financial Times reported on Saturday.

Elbridge Colby, the U.S. under-secretary of defense for policy, has been pushing the matter during recent talks with defense officials of both countries, the report said, citing people familiar with the discussions.

According to the newspaper, the reported request caught both Tokyo and Canberra off guard, as the U.S. itself does not offer a blank cheque guarantee to defend Taiwan.

Colby said in an X post that the Department of Defense is focused on implementing the president's "America First" common sense agenda of restoring deterrence and achieving peace through strength, which "includes by urging allies to step up their defense spending and other efforts related to our collective defense."

The U.S is Taiwan's most important arms supplier, despite a lack of formal diplomatic ties. Taiwan has faced increased military pressure from China, including several rounds of war games, as Beijing seeks to assert its sovereignty claims over the island. Taiwan rejects China's assertion of sovereignty.

(Excerpt) Read more at yahoo.com ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events
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Thank you very much and God bless you.

We've always been able to push out preparation for a war in the Pacific...at least since WWII.

That is no longer the case and our planning needs to assume it starts in 1-5 years. We need to know who will fight with us, and WE need to prepare materially.

Taiwan is just a proxy for all of Oceanic Asia.

1 posted on 07/12/2025 9:53:53 AM PDT by Mariner
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To: Mariner

China is basically trying to do what Imperial Japan did, bring about the “Greater East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere”


2 posted on 07/12/2025 9:55:32 AM PDT by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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To: Mariner

report + reportedly + people familiar with = garbage ... QED ...


3 posted on 07/12/2025 9:59:24 AM PDT by catnipman ((A Vote For The Lesser Of Two Evils Still Counts As A Vote For Evil))
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To: Mariner

IOW’s, we need some Ukraine style proxies to help us when we go to war with China.


4 posted on 07/12/2025 10:13:09 AM PDT by Karl Spooner
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To: Mariner

If America made chips here, we wouldn’t be stressed about Taiwan. If we drilled more in America, we wouldn’t have sacrificed blood and treasure in the Mideast.


5 posted on 07/12/2025 10:52:43 AM PDT by shanover (...To disarm the people is the best and most effectual way to enslave e them.-S.Adams)
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To: Mariner

Maybe we should think twice about offering any defense for Japan and Australia.


6 posted on 07/12/2025 11:13:44 AM PDT by EliRoom8
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To: shanover

“If America made chips here, we wouldn’t be stressed about Taiwan. If we drilled more in America, we wouldn’t have sacrificed blood and treasure in the Mideast.”

...and if half* of the Democrats and European Leaders were paid off by Ukraine, we wouldn’t to worry about that dump either.

*well, maybe not quite half.


7 posted on 07/12/2025 11:26:29 AM PDT by BobL
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To: Mariner

Taiwan FIRST needs to do something to defend itself.

It completely bans guns on the island, with gun control measures that would make a NY liberal blush

Their own army is tiny, and it’s staffed at only 2/3 strength anyway. They still have “conscription” but will allow their local soy boys to mop floors at a hospital instead of picking up a rifle. A business associate’s son just completed his “military training” - 4 months, weekends at home, and never fired a rifle the entire time.

All Taiwan elites have foreign passports and assets, so they will all be gone before any trouble starts. 15% of Taiwanese reside on Mainland China anyway, doing business, with family, studying, etc...

Screw this Taiwan/China war-mongering crap.

This is not MAGA.


8 posted on 07/12/2025 11:31:28 AM PDT by PGR88
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To: Mariner

Once we have the TSMC semiconductor plant operational in Arizona we’ll have less need of Taiwan. Anyways the Taiwanese people themselves are evenly divided concerning China with half of them willing to accept being absorbed by China. So not worth a world war over it.


9 posted on 07/12/2025 11:44:43 AM PDT by jimwatx
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To: Mariner

Elbridge Colby... Harvard and Yale, from a filthy CIA family. (William Colby was his grandpa) Daddy was an investment banker. He’s never been shot at, and never will. Out there cheerleading for war and trying to get everyone (except him) involved.

Lowlife.


10 posted on 07/12/2025 12:03:09 PM PDT by DesertRhino (2016 Star Wars, 2020 The Empire Strikes Back, 2025... RETURN OF THE JEDI….There’s really not much to)
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To: jimwatx

Personally, I doubt the Chinese will invade. It’ll be more like Hong Kong. An agreement, more influence, elite capture. And when they land in Taiwan, it’ll be at Taipei Airport and they’ll walk down a red carpet.


11 posted on 07/12/2025 12:06:20 PM PDT by DesertRhino (2016 Star Wars, 2020 The Empire Strikes Back, 2025... RETURN OF THE JEDI….There’s really not much to)
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