Taiwan-Straitjacket
By Michael J. Lostumbo
July 22, 2023
AP
The surging security relationship between the United States and Taiwan is exposing some long-simmering differences, with questions about Taiwan’s defense investments atop Washington’s list of concerns.
Washington and Taipei agree on the goal of protecting Taiwan’s security, and they are forging the most comprehensive ties in decades. Taiwan faces an existential threat, but Taiwan is not responding in a way that suggests that they accept this when you consider both how much they are spending for their defense and what they are spending it on. Taiwan has taken its own path, which is causing growing concern in Washington that time and resources are being squandered.
For over 15 years, U.S. analysts have assessed that Taiwan’s military is not suited to defending against an invasion and issued urgent recommendations detailing concrete steps Taiwan can take to improve its defenses. For its part, Taiwan has articulated a clear defense concept: “resist the enemy on the opposite shore, attack it at sea, destroy it in the littoral area, and annihilate it on the beachhead.” The magnitude of the threat suggests that Taiwan will need considerable capacity to interdict adversary forces in each layer. But Taiwan is not devoting sufficient resources to implementation of this defense concept.
https://www.realcleardefense.com/articles/2023/07/22/taiwan-straitjacket_967955.html
