US prepares for China’s invasion of Taiwan

The Penghu Islands, effectively controlled by Taiwan, are strategically important 50 km west of Taiwan and 140 km east of China. Among the 90 large and small islands, 16 are inhabited, including Magung Dao, and the Taiwanese military has concentrated air bases, missile and radar bases, and naval bases on these 16 islands. Because of this, the Penghu Islands have been mentioned as the first place to be hit if China invades Taiwan. In fact, the Taiwanese military has frequently conducted training in preparation for the Chinese landing operation in the Penghu Islands, and secretly conducted joint exercises with the US military every year.

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen (center) watches a Chinese military amphibious deterrence exercise conducted by Taiwanese forces on the Penghu Islands. [대만 국방부]

By the way, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen revealed for the first time in October 2021 that about 30 US troops are stationed in Taiwan, and announced that the two countries have even conducted joint training. President Tsai even visited the Penghu Islands to observe and encourage Taiwanese Army Special Forces, Navy Land Combat Corps (Marine Corps), and US Navy Navy SEALs training. It was the first time in history that a Taiwanese military commander-in-chief inspected a military drill between the two countries. When the US established diplomatic ties with China in 1979, it withdrew 30,000 troops from Taiwan. Instead, according to the Taiwan Relations Act, the American Association in Taiwan (AIT), which is equivalent to an embassy in Taiwan, was established and a small number of troops such as marines and special forces were deployed as a guard. The U.S. military has been serving as an instructor and imparting the latest training, including various land and sea combat techniques, to the Taiwanese Special Forces and Marine Corps.

As the possibility of China’s invasion of Taiwan grows, the United States has decided to more than quadruple the number of troops stationed in Taiwan. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) quoted a US Department of Defense official as saying, “In addition to the 30 US troops currently stationed in Taiwan, we plan to deploy 100 to 200 more in the coming months.” The U.S. reinforcements will support a training program that trains the Taiwanese military on U.S. weapon systems and protects itself from a Chinese invasion. “The United States’ commitment to Taiwan is unwavering, and it is contributing to maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and in the region,” said Pentagon spokesman Martin Maynes.

A squadron of F-16V fighters of the Taiwanese Air Force patrols the Taiwan Air Defense Identification Zone. [대만 국방부]

The Taiwanese military will also greatly expand training in the US mainland. In the second half of this year, the Taiwanese Army plans to send some 500 soldiers selected from the 542nd Armored Brigade under the 6th Army Corps and the 333rd Mechanized Infantry Brigade under the 8th Army Corps to the United States to receive the latest military training. The Taiwanese Army’s mainland training in the United States follows military exchanges and cooperation between the two countries. In the meantime, the US Michigan National Guard has supported the Taiwanese Army’s platoon-level or company-level training.

The US is also actively supplying weapons to Taiwan. On March 1, the U.S. State Department approved arms sales to Taiwan worth $619 million, including 200 advanced medium-range air-to-air missiles (AMRAAM) and 100 AGM-88B high-speed radar-destroying air-to-surface missiles. These missiles are expected to be mounted on the Taiwan Air Force’s F-16V fighter jets. The Taiwanese military is promoting the ‘Fengzhan Project’ to improve the performance of 141 F-16 A/B, an early version of the F-16, with the latest F-16V. Taiwan plans to complete the Fengjan project by the end of this year, and separately plans to introduce 66 US-made F-16Vs. This is the ninth arms sale to Taiwan since the inauguration of US President Joe Biden. The US also signed a technical support contract with Taiwan for the follow-up of F-16V fighter jets. The scale is 1.44973 million Taiwan dollars (approximately 62.1 billion won) and the period is 5 years. Accordingly, US technicians will be stationed at Tainan Air Base in southern Taiwan to transfer related technologies to Taiwanese technicians.

Taiwan will also purchase 460 AGM-84L Harpoon Block 2 surface-to-ship missiles from the United States. The Harpoon surface-to-ship missile has a maximum range of 280 km and can strike not only Chinese naval vessels attempting to cross the Taiwan Strait, but also vessels anchored in Chinese mainland ports or ports, as well as major military installations. The Harpoon surface-to-ship missile is considered an asymmetric force that can carry out the ‘Taiwan version anti-access area denial (A2AD)’ strategy, which denies China’s access.

Along with this, the US is also actively pursuing a plan to stockpile war materials to provide support to Taiwan at strategic points in preparation for the worst case scenario. Charles Flynn, Commander of the U.S. Army Pacific Command, said, “If an armed conflict breaks out with China in Taiwan, we will expand the pre-deployment materials in Korea and Japan so that we can quickly procure supplies necessary for warfare.” Pre-arranged materials refer to the pre-arrangement of war materials such as tanks, armored vehicles, self-propelled artillery, trucks, ammunition, and oil.

On February 21, the US held high-level security talks with Taiwan and discussed in detail ways to cooperate with Taiwan, including arms support. The meeting, which was held behind closed doors at the AIT headquarters in Virginia, was attended by Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman and Deputy White House National Security Advisor Jonathan Feiner from the United States, and Foreign Minister Wu Zhao-Hye and Secretary-General of the National Security Council Kuri-Shiung from Taiwan. The United States and Taiwan have had annual security talks since their 1997 meeting in Monterey, California. It was held from July to September every year, but this year it was much earlier than that. At the meeting, it is expected that measures to deal with China’s military threat and the acceleration of US arms sales to Taiwan were discussed.

What stands out about this meeting is that the US Congress is more active than ever in military aid to Taiwan. The U.S. Congress is providing Taiwan with a maximum of $2 billion (approximately 2.6 trillion won) per year for a total of $10 billion for a total of five years in the 2023-2027 fiscal year, Foreign Military Financial Assistance (FMF: The United States to allow foreign governments to purchase American weapons) In addition, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2023, which allows the government to provide 1 billion dollars (approximately 1.3 trillion won) of military aid annually under the authority of the president, was passed. made it As the NDAA took effect with the signature of President Joe Biden, the US government was able to provide weapons to Taiwan in large numbers.

In addition, the Republican Party, which controls the House of Representatives, is asking President Biden to expand military aid to Taiwan. In the House of Representatives, Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCall and Military Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, who belong to the House of Representatives, sent a letter to President Biden on February 16, ordering more funding for arms support and training for the Taiwanese army. In the letter, they said, “China is increasingly pressuring its allies with military force, and has recently infiltrated US airspace with reconnaissance balloons.” do,” he claimed.

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen (center) poses for a commemorative photo with members of the U.S. House of Representatives who visited the country in February. [대만 총통실]

The leading member of the House of Representatives to support Taiwan is Mike Gallagher, chairman of the newly established Special Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party (US-China Strategic Competition Special Committee). Chairman Gallagher said, “The best way to prevent China’s invasion of Taiwan and fundamentally prevent World War III is to build a substantial military force in Taiwan.” We need to do everything,” he stressed. On February 28, the House Foreign Relations Committee passed the Taiwan Guarantee Act, which included support for Taiwan against China’s threat. In the midst of this, it is known that President Tsai will visit the United States in April and seek a meeting with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who is a hardliner on China. In this case, the relationship between the US and China is expected to deteriorate further.

On the other hand, the US government appointed Laura Rosenberg, a public hardline former White House National Security Council (NSC) senior director for China and Taiwan, as the president of AIT. Chairman Rosenberg served as the executive director of China and Taiwan policy in the Biden administration and recently resigned. Bloomberg News analyzed, “Chairman Rosenberg is a representative public hawk, a person who reveals President Biden’s true intentions that he will no longer pay attention to China in setting up relations with Taiwan.” Reuters predicted, “Chairman Rosenberg will take a more practical approach to strengthening relations with Taiwan than her predecessors, and she will also play a role in maintaining liaison channels with candidates in Taiwan’s presidential election, which will be held in January next year.” .

In Taiwan’s presidential election, it is expected that a confrontation will unfold between the candidates of the Taiwanese independent Democratic Progressive Party (Democratic Party) and the pro-China Nationalist Party. China is already actively supporting the election of the Kuomintang candidate. Considering this situation, it can be interpreted that the intention of the United States to appoint Chairman Rosenberg is to secretly support the candidate of the Democratic Progressive Party. Chairman Rosenberg is also expected to play an active role in strengthening military cooperation between the two countries. It is clear that the expansion of military cooperation between the US and Taiwan will have a significant impact on the international order in Northeast Asia as well as the Indo-Pacific region.

Janghoon Lee International Affairs Analyst [email protected]

Source: Donga

Mark

Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.