Taiwan Military News, Reports, Data, etc.

SpicySichuan

Senior Member
Registered Member
Has anyone noticed the Taiwan Invasion Prevention Bill introduced by Ted Yoho? If passed, it would literally put an end to Washington's post-1979 policy of Strategic Ambiguity and require Washington to come to Taipei's aid should the latter be attacked. Also, if this bill does become law, the U.S.-China Relations would indeed go down the drain. We not talking about Cold War 2.0 anymore, but a significant increase of the risk of great power armed conflict (yes, a Thucydides' Trap, except with nukes this time around).

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The Taiwan Invasion Prevention Act accomplishes the following:

  • Establishes a limited defensive authorization for the President to use military force for the specific purpose of securing and protecting Taiwan against armed attack.
  • Requires China renounce the use or threat of military force in its relationship with Taiwan.
  • Establishes a series of security dialogues and combined military exercises between the U.S., Taiwan, and likeminded security partners.
  • Advises Taiwan to dedicate additional domestic resources towards its own defense, including the acquisition of asymmetric defensive weapons, reform of Taiwan’s reserve system, and engagement with the United States on cyber defense activities.
  • Urges the U.S. Trade Representative to enter into negotiations with Taiwan on a bilateral trade agreement.
  • Encourages the U.S. President, or Secretary of State, to meet with the President of Taiwan on Taiwan soil.
  • Welcomes the President of Taiwan to address a Joint Meeting of Congress.
 

supersnoop

Major
Registered Member
Ted Yoho is a lame duck introducing lame duck legislation.
He already announced his retirement, so this is unlikely to get off his desk
The guy just got pasted for calling his colleague a F***ing B***ch (thus, good luck finding support)
Probably trying to look "tough on China" since FL has passed China in Covid deaths.
 

SpicySichuan

Senior Member
Registered Member
The guy just got pasted for calling his colleague a F***ing B***ch (thus, good luck finding support)
Good point! Isn't it ironic how the so-called strongest supporters of Taiwan and HK (Ted Yoho, Tom Cotton) are the most redneckish confederates (and no, I won't capitalize slave owners) in Congress? Of course, there's small-hand Donald and sycophant Pompeo, who have absolutely zero understanding of the complexity of U.S.-China Relations and how dangerous it would be to overplay the Taiwan card in such a pretentious macho manner.
 

Mr T

Senior Member
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The US has declassified documents that provide more detail on its security assurances to Taiwan, as Washington seeks to counter what it fears is a growing inclination by China to use military force against the island. The move marks the latest step in a US campaign to hold Beijing to account over everything from the mass detention of Uighurs in Xinjiang province to China’s imposition of a draconian security law in Hong Kong.

The decision to make public the full details of the so-called Six Assurances made by President Ronald Reagan to Taipei in 1982 follows calls from defence experts, former officials and Taiwan supporters in Congress to make a clear commitment to come to Taiwan’s rescue if it were attacked by China. .....
 

tupolevtu144

Junior Member
Registered Member
Some important news here:

So last week I posted that many Taiwanese media have hinted on an upcoming major arms sale to Taiwan consisting of the following 7 weapons:
1. MQ-9 Reaper reconnaissance variant (confirmed)
2. Land-based Harpoon AShM (confirmed)
3. HIMARS (confirmed)
4. M109A6 Paladin (very possible)
5. an unspecified type of naval mine
6. ??? (don't know)
7. ??? (don't know)

Several days ago various American news outlets have just confirmed the arms sale. Here's a report from the New York Times:

U.S. Pushes Large Arms Sale to Taiwan, Including Jet Missiles That Can Hit China
By Edward Wong

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is pushing the sale of seven large packages of weapons to Taiwan, including long-range missiles that would allow Taiwanese jets to hit distant Chinese targets in the event of a conflict, say officials familiar with the proposals.

If approved by Congress, the packages, valued in the billions, would be one of the largest weapons transfers in recent years to Taiwan. The administration plans to informally notify lawmakers of the sales within weeks.

By law, the United States government is required to provide weapons of a defensive nature to Taiwan, a self-governing, democratic island. China, which claims Taiwan as part of its territory, has escalated its military activity near the island after Taiwan’s president, Tsai Ing-wen, won re-election in January by beating a candidate viewed as friendlier to Beijing.

The proposed sales come as President Trump and his campaign strategists try to paint him as tough on China in the run-up to the election in November. They are eager to divert the conversation among American voters away from Mr. Trump’s vast failures on the coronavirus pandemic and the economy, and to paper over his constant praise for Xi Jinping, China’s authoritarian leader.

Some administration officials see bolstering Taiwan as an important part of creating a broader military counterweight to China in Asia. Taiwan has strong bipartisan support in Congress, so administration officials expect lawmakers to approve the arms sales.

Relations between the United States and China have plummeted to their lowest point in decades, as the two nations openly challenge each other on a wide range of issues, including trade, technology, diplomatic relations and military dominance of Asia.

The most sensitive weapon system of the proposed packages to Taiwan is an air-to-ground missile, the AGM-84H/K SLAM-ER, made by Boeing. Because of its range, it can be fired by jets flying beyond the reach of China’s air defense system. The missiles could hit targets on the Chinese mainland or at sea, including warships trying to cross the Taiwan Strait. The proposed sale of the missile, which is likely to cause concern among Chinese military officials, has not been previously reported.

The missiles can be used with F-16 fighter jets that the United States has sold Taiwan. The Trump administration announced last year that it was selling to Taiwan 66 such jets at $8 billion, one of the single largest arms packages to the island in many years.

Officials said the current proposed sales include surveillance drones that are an unarmed version of the Reaper model made by General Atomics; a truck-based rocket artillery system made by Lockheed Martin; land-based Harpoon anti-ship missiles from Boeing; and sea mines. Reuters reported aspects of the packages on Wednesday.

“The U.S. is increasingly concerned that deterrence is weakening as Chinese military capabilities grow,” said Bonnie S. Glaser, a senior adviser for Asia at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “The items in this package will help increase Taiwan’s ability to prevent a Chinese invasion — essentially to hold out longer.”

But, she said: “Weapons procurements are only one part of that equation. The U.S. is also urging Taiwan to rebuild its reserves and conduct more real-world training.”

China traditionally denounces arms sales to Taiwan, and it could send a warning by increasing the intensity of exercises the People’s Liberation Army conducts in the area. Last month, it fired a barrage of medium-range missiles into the South China Sea during a series of military exercises, and on Wednesday, it sent two anti-submarine aircraft into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone.

China might also announce sanctions against the American companies involved in the proposed sales. In July, it said it would penalize Lockheed Martin after the Trump administration had announced it was approving a $620 million arms package to Taiwan that involved upgrades by the company to surface-to-air missiles. But Lockheed Martin barely does any business with China and has supplied weapons and defense equipment to Taiwan for many years.

If China imposed sanctions on Boeing, however, that could deal a blow to the company, which sells commercial jets to the country.

Evan S. Medeiros, a professor at Georgetown University who was a senior Asia director on the National Security Council in the Obama administration, said China might impose sanctions on a few companies, “but strategically they are focused on preserving stability in U.S.-China relations right now.”

Mr. Medeiros and other American officials have pressed Taiwanese officials over the past decade to buy weapons that would enhance deterrence and increase the island military’s abilities to hold off Chinese forces in a meaningful way. In June 2019, the Trump administration, at the request of Taiwanese officials, proposed a $2 billion package of arms that included 108 M1A2 Abrams tanks. Those sales have been widely criticized by U.S. experts on the Chinese military, who say the tanks would not be of great use in the event of an invasion by the People’s Liberation Army.

With the current proposed sales, though, “Taiwan is finally buying what it really needs to implement its asymmetric defense strategy,” Mr. Medeiros said. “It’s a bit tardy to this garden party, but Taiwan’s leaders are finally committing serious resources.”

Some of the biggest proponents of strengthening Taiwan’s military are in the White House. Robert C. O’Brien, the national security adviser, and Matthew Pottinger, his deputy, are advocates of this. Mr. O’Brien’s predecessor, John R. Bolton, has gone farther, pushing for the United States to formally recognize Taiwan.

Administration officials are reluctant to take that step, but they do aim to bolster Taiwan’s diplomatic standing in the world. In March, officials persuaded Mr. Trump to sign the bipartisan Taipei Act passed by Congress, which commits Washington to helping Taiwan improve its international status. On Thursday, Keith J. Krach, the under secretary of state for economic growth, energy and the environment, arrived in Taiwan to attend a memorial service for Lee Teng-hui, a former president.

Last month, Alex M. Azar II, the U.S. secretary of health and human services, met in Taipei with Ms. Tsai, in the highest-level visit by an American official to the island since Washington broke off formal diplomatic relations in 1979.

Taiwanese officials hope that a new economic dialogue with the United States will result in a free-trade agreement.

Here's a link to the non-paywalled article for anyone that is interested:
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So basically: US is going to sell a billion-dollar arms package to Taiwan including the following 7 weapons:
1. MQ-9 Reaper reconnaissance variant (confirmed)
2. Land-based Harpoon AShM (confirmed)
3. HIMARS (confirmed)
4. AGM-84H/K SLAM-ER (confirmed)
5. an unspecified type of naval mine (confirmed)
6. M109A6 Paladin (very possible)
7. ??? (don't know) [recently some less-credible Taiwanese media outlets are saying that the 7th weapon is the Abrams tank, however what variant exactly is going to be sold is still unknown]
 

Mr T

Senior Member
I thought about posting that but because numbers of items weren't confirmed I thought it would be better to wait until the DSCA notification. But thanks for sharing for those that weren't aware.
 

tupolevtu144

Junior Member
Registered Member
I thought about posting that but because numbers of items weren't confirmed I thought it would be better to wait until the DSCA notification. But thanks for sharing for those that weren't aware.
Yeah I originally posted this on the "China/Taiwan News" thread, but there's so much political bickering over there and almost no serious discussion at all that I finally decided to post this here instead.
 

supersnoop

Major
Registered Member
What is the point of operating land based Harpoon when land based HF-2 already exists? Seems needlessly redundant.

Wasn't HIMARS rumored almost 20 years ago? Kind of crazy that it took this long.
 

TerraN_EmpirE

Tyrant King
Longer range the HF2 has a range of about 250km Harpoon 280km

I am not sure if the Taiwanese tried before to get HIMARS. All three previous US Administrations have made major sales to Taiwan it’s just a question of what.
 
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