What will happen if China strikes Taiwan during the Biden administration? It’s a fair question. Biden is compromised regarding China, and the two years’ worth of weapons promised to Taiwan has not been delivered. On Sunday, for the second time since Thursday, Chinese fighters and bombers entered Taiwan’s air defense zone, causing the island to scramble jets.
Taiwan detected 24 Chinese aircraft, both fighters, and bombers, on Sunday. Ten of them crossed the “median line.” On Thursday, 37 Chinese aircraft entered Taiwan’s air defense zone.
The actions of China are intended to demoralize Taiwan at this point. But if China strikes Taiwan while the US is weak under the Biden administration, things will go “off the rails” instantly. Biden has repeatedly said the US will protect Taiwan, and the White House staff has repeatedly walked back those statements. With the backdrop of the disastrous US pullout from Afghanistan, it is unlikely we would protect Taiwan. We aren’t even providing the $Billions in weapons they’ve already paid for.
Backlog
The Taiwan backlog is years along, something Congress is trying to address. But there is a difficulty: Ukraine.
Part of the problem is the process for weapons sales to other countries, which is slow and can take years. But even when the process is speeded up, the government prioritized Ukraine over Taiwan. Other nations including ones in the Middle East are also vying for US weapons. Add to that the defense industry’s slowness to produce the needed weapons.
The U.S. government has approved the sale of 10 weapons systems Taiwan has yet to receive — some of which are not slated for delivery until the end of the decade…
So far, much of Congress’ work to address the backlog has been “informal,” according to Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., who sits on the Foreign Relations Committee. But he said part of that effort included “pressing suppliers to do everything we can to expedite delivery of materiels to Taiwan.”
McCaul said defense manufacturers should display more “innovation, agility and flexibility” in scaling up production to meet the ever-growing demand for U.S. weapons. Defense One
If China strikes Taiwan, the island nation may not have the capability to stop the aggression.
Any war with China would be devastating, both for Taiwan and the global economy. Taiwan is the world’s foremost provider of microchips for everything from cars to computers. The Taiwan Strait is also a major shipping lane in the Asia-Pacific for many nations. That’s why the US has gone to great lengths to send US planes and ships through the area despite the actions being met with Chinese saber rattling. Even the Secretary of Defense has stated that a war in the Taiwan Strait would be horrific on all fronts.
“The whole world has a stake in maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. The security of commercial shipping lanes and global supply chains depends on it. And so does freedom of navigation worldwide. Make no mistake: conflict in the Taiwan Strait would be devastating.” Sec Def Lloyd Austin
Cross-Posted with Conservative Firing Line
