The U.S. and Japan Need Training with Taiwan to Deter China
.By Ben Noon & Joseph RossMay 12, 2022
The U.S. and Japan Need Training with Taiwan to Deter ChinaU.S. Marine Corps photo by LCpl Donato Maffin
The clock is ticking for Taiwan. Russia’s attack on Ukraine should teach the West that state-on-state wars to redraw the global order are more than just possible. The United States cannot keep telling itself that its authoritarian adversaries will not attempt extreme measures to fulfill long-held ambitions of territorial aggrandizement. Nowhere is this danger clearer than Taiwan. Chinese Communist Party General Secretary Xi Jinping has been transparent about his goals: he wants to annex the flourishing democracy, by force of arms if needed.
The United States and Japan understand that the security of Taiwan is a critical national interest. Its de-facto independence and unique geographic position makes the defense of Japan possible and bottles up the Chinese Navy in East Asia, not to mention Taiwan’s importance as a beacon of democracy neighboring a China ruled by the Chinese Communist Party. But the United States, Japan, and Taiwan remain woefully unprepared to back up Washington and Tokyo’s growing commitments to support Taiwan.
If war began tomorrow, the three partners would have almost no ability to coordinate their actions. The result would be a disjointed campaign where the U.S., Japan, and Taiwan generate significantly less combat power than their wealth and technological sophistication would suggest. Just imagine: Japanese and Taiwanese ships unable to communicate. Taiwanese targeting systems confusing American and Chinese fighters. Taiwan shooting blindly into China for lack of targeting data from the United States. Only disaster awaits on the current trajectory.
https://www.realcleardefense.com/articles/2022/05/12/the_us_and_japan_need_training_with_taiwan_to_deter_china_831932.html
