Why Taiwan Prepared for War by Spending Less
Vložit
- čas přidán 7. 08. 2023
- Get Your Own Mini GOAT Replica Today! Shop here: bit.ly/44DHgLs
Why has Taiwan’s defense spending hovered at an itty bitty 2% of GDP just $16.9 billion dollars while they face an existential threat 100 miles away? Is that even legal? This is why Defense analysts and US generals are raising the alarmist alarm that Taiwan isn’t spending nearly enough and they’re spending the wrong way top deter China. Some analysts claim Taiwan's military leadership has abandoned their asymmetric warfare plan for an unrealistic strategy that pits them in a head to head with their enemy.
Written by: Chris Cappy and Diego Aceituno
Edited by: Savvy Studios
We’ll soon learn that looking at Taiwan's defense strategy simply through the lens of comparing numbers of tanks and fighter jets is an overly simplistic approach. Because from Taiwan's perspective, diminishing returns and investing money in creative outside the box ideas might just be their best bet for survival. It’s time to don your tropical camo and take a closer look at the Fortress Island of Taiwan’s strategy to keep their people free.
“A person is blessed once but troubles come many at once.” -Taiwan Proverb
The most obvious strategy for you to pick if you were in charge of Taiwan at this point would be to invest everything you have into a conventional defense to deter China right? But instead Taiwan’s leadership long ago decided there was no realistic way they could compete in this realm and they would need to find a different creative solution. So in a weird counter intuitive way, we can see that Taipei's defense spending has steadily decreased from its highest point of 7.6 percent of GDP in 1979 down to its lowest point at 1.6 percent of GDP in 2016.
What are some of the reasons for this? Well, In a paper written by Steven Li for the University of Washington he points out that part of the limitations on defense spending can be attributed to physical geographic considerations. So, Taiwan has an incredibly small land mass of about 36,000 kilometers squared or the same size as the US state of Maryland. What this means is that the island nation will quickly reach a point of saturation when it comes to available space for staging, testing, operating, storing, maintaining and placing military hardware very quickly. Basically at a certain point you can’t practically or physically expect to cram anymore missile defense systems or tanks into one small location.
Join this channel to get access to perks:
/ @taskandpurpose
Task & Purpose is a military news and culture oriented channel. We want to foster discussion about the defense industry.
sources:
digital.lib.washington.edu/re...
warontherocks.com/2021/11/tai...
www.ustaiwandefense.com/tdnsw...
warontherocks.com/2018/10/hop...
Email capelluto@taskandpurpose.com for inquires.
#TAIWAN #EXPLORE #MILITARY
Thanks for watching spare parts army, Get Your Own Mini GOAT Replica Today! Shop here: bit.ly/44DHgLs
Video on 🇬🇪 Georgia
"See the problem as more of a political one than a military one." What did Mr. C say? War is just politics by other means.
Дякую за підтримку України.
Слава Україні.
🇺🇦🤝🌍
@@user-I-I-user His comment makes a hell of a lot more sense than yours does
@@redeyedmongoose2963 Thanks. The dude is just a troll. My standard response is to hit thumbs down, and then forget about them completely. Cheers.
I've been to Taiwan. There is not a beach without bunker after bunker. You travel around by train, and over half the trains are military equipment. I talk to Taiwanese, and almost every one is still a reservist in one force or another. I think it is important to understand that the goal is not to beat China. The goal is to make Taiwan so hard to take that it is not worth going after it. My opinion is that if China does attack Taiwan, the cost would be horrendous and at least for right now is not worth it.
China will inevitable invade Taiwan
Ah yes, the famous "Make yourself so painful and expensive to invade that it'll turn sanctions pointed at your enemy look like a bad joke" strategy.
Let Taiwan take the cost, and US get the benifit.
😂 are you sure you were traveling in Taiwan ? where did you find bunkers after bunkers at which beach ? where did you see half of the train full of military equipment ? 😅
@@thetruthis4511 in my mom and dad house
For Taiwan, the example to follow is that of Switzerland from just before WW2. Switzerland is comparable to Taiwan in many ways even though it is not an island, small, mountainous, self reliant and quite rich. The pre WW2 strategy was called the "réduit Suisse". It is that of the porcupine, make it so painful to swallow that the juice is not worth the squeeze. Use your mountains as a fortress and tunnel into them, be able to move your vital industries there quickly in case of attack, be able to quickly blow up bridges and tunnels, pre set tank traps, train your troops in mountain warfare, turn everyone into a trained reservist, let people keep their assault rifle and uniform at home (ammo is stored in a sealed container, you cannot break the seal unless it's wartime). Everyone trains 15 days a year, make it popular to train at the range for sports. Many Swissair pilots were also doubling as airforce reservists. Any invader will think twice before invading a country where the army is the whole darn population.
Ironically, Switzerland has one of the most restrictive gun ownership laws in the world. That also includes the marketing of firearms to civilians. The famous Sig pistols that are popular with gun owners around the world, especially law enforcement, for example, the FBI, technically cannot be marketed abroad. However, that law only applied to Swiss gun makers. This is why around the world, these pistols are more commonly known as Sig Sauer pistols since Saurer is the German company that actually marketed these pistols around the world.
I am Taiwanese and your message is really impressive. Your advice should be collected. I always think Taiwan should learn from Switzerland as well. Thank you
Yes but even the Swiss have an air force.... USA refusing to sell taiwanese the F35B, which can vertically take off and fights , is hurting Taiwanese ability to defend itself, you can win a war without controlling the air, ur own airspace
Switzerland has no geographical strategic value, and it mainly relies on industry, which is not attractive to Germany or the Soviet Union.
Take a look at the geographical location of Taiwan.
@@user-li8sm6ft5bmaybe the Swiss knows how to sweet talks their way out of trouble. Their fondue, chocolate & watches are world best.
I hope Taiwan stays free. I visited twice. First time to visit a girl I liked. That didn't work out, but I did fall for Taiwan! Then, had to visit again just to see more of Taiwan. Love the people ❤ Love the country ❤
Me too, lovely people
As a Taiwanese, I'd say you do a lot of homework which gives you a pretty decent accuracy on our current situation, even better than most of the traditional media in Taiwan. Really appreciate your work and thank you for doing this video to introduce our country.
As a Chinese, I'd say both of you are BSing.. How about that? -.-
You act like saying you are Taiwanese means anything -.-
It was the Chinese military fighting for Republic of China that pushed the Japanese forces out of Taiwan..
As a Taiwanese, I agree most while disagree some, and most disagreeing on awkward translations of the proverbs😂. What is most important above all, is that you covered the story so extensively in both width and depth. I truly appreciate this.❤
I would be interested in hearing better translations
A lot of the proverbs he uses in these videos seem very awkwardly translated. I do like that he mentioned why he uses them in this video though.
Anyway I hope you never get invaded, would be a such loss to the whole world when a fine country is destroyed by bigger bully. Regards from Finland
AHAHAHA 😂classic Task and Purpose but I don't mind
lol. yeah the proverbs seem extremely weird. im sure they work a lot better when spoken in their native language.
I am honored to have worked with the US military. They are mentors and friends. Thank them for supporting Taiwan.
Basically all of the US support Taiwan in terms of people there are some extremeists but other wise it’s full you guys are very important just for everything your strategic spot and production of important chips and resources plus the hatred of communists keeps almost 100% support for you keep up the good work 🇹🇼
@@Stalkergames916 Rather than hating the CCP, we have the same interests and values as the United States and the free world. In addition to protecting our homeland, we also have natural human rights.
I'm honored that my country was able to support Taiwan. Democracies need to support each other.
We happily support Taiwan against the dictatorship of the CCP/China. Stay strong and fight the good fight, friend.
🇺🇸 + 🇹🇼 = 💪🏼
✌🏼
@@ArsenalofMikeocracy I am very grateful that your country has brought positive changes to the world. The United States has absolute power, but at the same time bears heavy responsibilities. I am a Taiwanese special warfare soldier and a doctor. I hope to protect life, freedom and democracy and human rights. I am also very grateful to the United States for its firm support of Taiwan. Although we do not have diplomatic relations, we all know that the support of the United States is greater than that of many countries with diplomatic relations.
As a teenager who will soon join the Taiwanese ARMY, I am grateful to have the US support us.
Every day that island is protected, the dream of China, free and prosperous is alive. Perhaps one day, your cousins on the mainland can share in Sun Yat-Sen's dream.
You don’t
@@MemekingJagSun Yat-Sen's dream is a unified and strong china, the current ROC on taiwan was rebuilt by Chiang, which at the time no longer the president of ROC, he prolong a needless civil war because of his own desire for power.
KMT under his "democratic leadership" slaughter anyone suspicious of being communist or just communist sympathizer, today DDP claim those sacrifice are pro-independent taiwanese, lol at taiwan's strange politic environment.
I do wonder if I will ever see a China under KMT again.@@MemekingJag
@@qtsssim Ah yes, realpolitik.
As a dual national citizen of both the US and Taiwan, i appreciate channels like these put Taiwan in the spotlight. Though there are far more problems in our society and corruption in the military, we still take pride as a growing, thriving young democracy, and we stand with the free world.
USA freaking abandoned Taiwan and sided with China by allowing Chinese joining UN and recognized one China policy in 1971. USA is such a hypocrite😂
@@phisitpooratanachinda7894I feel bad they think we are coming…nobody is fighting that war lmao
The Americans want to provoke chaos and war in Eurasia. In order to absorb talents, capital and industries on the Eurasian continent to avoid wars, the United States has become stronger again like it did after World War II.
@@User-rka_zykx76they believe in their politician, which lied to stay in power. like which country arent, so dont feel bad, likely your ruling elite stay in power by lying too, your position aint anyway stronger.
@@phisitpooratanachinda7894bro it was 52 years ago the world has changed and russia + china are crumbling
Taiwan should focus on surviving the initial missile attacks then destroying the landing craft. China will be limited on how many troops / armored vehicles they can land at a time. Sometimes, having a smaller area to defend can be advantageous. The hardened bunkers and massive air defenses would help to save equipment needed to make the beaches / ports killing fields.
@@levelazn LOL! Not at all. Just a history / military history buff.
@@robertbates6057 I mean what you're saying is common sense for anyone who's looked at the tactical situation they're presented with... Why would it be CIA lol.
They have very limited beach landing sites and if they can maintain SAM capability the Chinese would be crazy to attempt an air drop of troops so they will get hit and hurt hard from it but they won't fall.
One wonders if Xi might have an Achilles heel in the form of landing craft, particularly supply ones, in the same way that Putin has discovered that the old Soviet-model military doesn't have nearly enough supply trucks to meet the demands of modern combat.
@@michaelccozens Like you all probably, I've watched a number of similar analysis. I think Xi would lose most of his beloved military equipment even if the US didn't participate.
Before China even lands on taiwanese soil u can be sure the entire taiwanese coast would be carpet bombed and shelled by naval artillery for 40 days and 40 nights,anything within 3km of the coast would pulverised and caramelized.....and believe me China has the industrial capacity to manufacture tens of thousands of artillery shells if not hundreds of thousands a day if needed....not the pathetic 30,000 a month usa is churning out right now for the war in Ukraine.
Dozens of frigates and destroyers can be outfitted with oto melara or bofors gun with extremely high rates of fire 20 to 40 rounds a min.....line 20,30 of these ships along the coast with 3 or 4 guns each
By the end of 40 nights and days, more than 2 million munitions delivered by hundreds of bombers on rotation will be dropped on taiwanese coastline and coastal defenses and any forces that happens to be there......more than was dropped on Cambodia by the US....,
As a former commander of the largest US Air Force ground radar unit in Japan, and a Mission Crew Commander Air Battle Manager on AWACS, Okinawa just 400 miles east of Taiwan is bristling with American forces ready to protect and defend Taiwan.
@@dickriggles942Watch
@@dickriggles942 The PLA admiralty can’t rely on such bravado.
Working out great for Ukraine. Seems like every country that the US "protects" ends up completely destroyed and worse off than they were before our "help".
@@mr.z3664 You'd think being under the russian jackboots would be worse, no?
@@dickriggles942 yeah we will. It's not a Ukraine situation where we just give out money and resources. We're actually going to fight if they do attempt to do something.
biden already said.
I love those proverbs you throw in from the different countries you discuss. Keep them coming
Taiwan's problem is a global problem, an Asian problem, and a Japanese problem. Like Ukraine, it is an important issue that will determine the world for the next 100 years. Whether we Japanese want it or not, Japan will ultimately have no choice but to get involved in solving this problem in some way or another. And Japan is starting to change little by little. Good luck Taiwan, all nations today have won survival and proven their worth through solidarity and resolute fighting.
We learned from past wars that when you give an aggressor nation what it wants in the hopes of avoiding war, it will always want more, until war becomes unavoidable.
It's not our problem there in the west, it's the problem of our usurper elites whom we despise.
不管你愿不愿意，如果日本胆敢再一次干涉中国的统一进程，我可代表所有中国人告诉日本人，中国对日本丢下原子弹将没有任何道德包袱。
@@johnmcgill3603so maybe the Taiwan government should give up their claim to ALL of China.
@@andyc3012 or why not Xi Ji Ping make Taiwan the KMT now rule in China after all he is for Chinese best interest and best works in a democracy. It worked for Taiwan when they were first a dictator then turned into a democracy and worked to their favor. Who knows he might even save his skin if he democratizes like Taiwan then which can help with Taiwan finally rejoining Mainland China. Doubt it now thou since Xi Ji Ping is being quite hated by his citizens more by the day
I am Taiwanese and I really appreciate your effort in creating this video introducing Taiwan.❤ In recent years, there has been a grassroots movement in Taiwan advocating for strengthening our civil defense. I believe this is also a way to deter China from considering military action against Taiwan. We are not aiming for victory, but rather aiming to be a hedgehog, much like Ukraine.
Taiwan knows the US will come to their aid. Biden already said it. No self defense required.
When Taiwanese introduce Taiwan, it's always about bubble tea.
Aim to be a Cobra, not aggressive but lethal. Taiwan must be able to bite and empowered also to kill, be able to kill the ugly China monster dragon so that she can no longer bully other nations.
Thank Taiwan Semi Conductors
And China is watching the Ukraine situation very carefully.
There’s only one proverb that matters in Taiwan right now. “If you want peace, prepare for war.”
Wrong one. "A scared dog will run away. A cornered dog will fight back" is more applicable here.
Ah, but is it not written that "You should always wear clean underwear because you never know if you will be knocked down by a cart.".
@@Shinkajo "Do not wear underwear then you don't have to have the underwear cleaned".
while the national proverb of USA goes, if you want profit, prepare for war.
i like the addition of the proverbs to the videos man, keep up the good work
Excellent video Chris. Once again you have done your research and given all sides of this oftentimes misunderstood situation..
No he didn't -.-
Taiwan was ruled by a military dictatorship under Martial Law until 1987..
Thanks for including the cultural aspects of warfare. It's crucial knowledge to have when in a fight.
I am no military expert, but spending 5 million on a antiship missle to sink a 500 - 3000 million ship, still sounds pretty asymetriacal to me. And even if you need 20 to get threw the air defense system of the ship, the numbers are in your favor.
Do you know when US attacked any country in last 30 years in similar fashion? I don't.
The risk is putting missiles on expensive platforms that can be knocked out early by long range or air to surface missiles. The former strategy diffused that risk by putting more missiles on cheaper platforms
@@CiceroSolo They're all on mobile platforms, difficult to find much less destroy, as the US military learned when they tried to target Saddam's mobile missile platforms - more than 90% survived despite the US military's best efforts.
@@johnmcgill3603 i agree, small and fast platforms are the best. Larger more long range stuff and subs seems counter intuitive to me but I'm not the Taiwanese military.
@@CiceroSolo Was also imagining if Taiwan/the ROC is able to dig & hide missile silos in its many mountains too
I think the Taiwanese Military has consulted very heavily on the Israeli Military for it's defense strategy like Singapore, and South Korea did in the 1960s and 70s. But the ultimate power that will help Taiwan is the US bottom line.
Critics: Why is Singapore buying Israeli drones? (in light of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict)
Some people in Singapore: Don't you know that no one else was willing to help build our defence? (when the country had just gained independence when it was expelled from Malaysia)
Long time watcher, first time commenter.
Fellow vet, Belgian armed forces. Army, Mech Infantry.
Love your work. You are so! funny, whilst also very informing.
Thank you for your service! And thank you for keeping us informed as well as entertained. ❤ from Belgium.
Focus on quality might be the way to go - us South Viets had the problem where our military was extremely large at 1 million and we burned through supplies at unsustainable rates (unfortunately the country was thin and long requiring this force to defend the entire border).
If you research where US soldiers are station. They always create a negative sentiment where they are stationed. The problem is they lose the hearts and minds of the local population. It's because of American exceptionalism as a mindset. For example, during the Vietnam War. The US soldiers often visited brothels, and bought opium from criminals. This generates the impression that the soldiers are bad people as they are socializing with the unsavory criminals of their society.
This is the same story from the Philippines, Japan, Guam, Germany, Kuwait, etc. You can find stories about bad behavior from US soldiers.
It's not just a US problem. Any soldiers occupying another country carries the same behavior. UN peacekeepers also have this reputation in all the nation's they operate in. The idea to use a foreign nations soldiers to help another is impractical and has never really worked out in history. Soldiers don't care about the locals, it's no different than hiring outsiders to police a neighborhood in the US. The protectors become abusive to the community they are stationed in. This is how you get cases during the Vietnam War, US soldiers impregnated Vietnamese women, then left them and their half bred vietnamese children after the war to go back to their American wife and kids. Literally abandoning that part of his life after the war. The US media doesn't cover stories like this, but if you research it. You can find them.
War in general is diastorous for any nations involved. The US is always involved with war between other nations as the US military industrial complex profits off war even if it's not their war.
@@YTStopCensoringFreedomOfspeech This literally has nothing to do with what I even originally wrote. I don't even talk about foreign soldiers in Taiwan at all ?
Yeah. There are good and bad soldiers. That has been reality for the entire existence of humans fighting. You just focus on the bad exceptions - many of which were hyped up by the media.
In the case of the Vietnam War (which, mind you, I'm very well read on since my channel focuses on it, although with a focus on late war), the vast majority of US soldiers were deployed in isolated FSBs whereas ARVN troops were deployed near towns and cities. The vast majority of US soldiers were okay. Only in certain urban areas in R&R did more expkicit stuff happen, but in regular South Vietnamese (non-touristy) areas it was quite normal.
For the baby thing - 20k Amerasians may sound like a lot, but when you factor in that about 2 million American soldiers operated in Vietnam in total that's negligible. War crimes committed by Americans were also very sparse and random (especially when compared to the dedicated, purposeful, terror campaigns of the NLF and Communists - they executed officials, village leaders, teachers, and more in the thousands).
@@YTStopCensoringFreedomOfspeech The behavior of Sowjet soldiers in Germany was so much worse, so the Americans did not have that bad of a reputation (some prostitution was better than woman getting raped and killed).
Also I disagree with "US media doesn't cover stories like this". The US media has a lot of problems, but criticism of the US military is not one of them. The Vietnam war was basically ended by the US media who showed the Americans at home how cruel the war is and therefor ended a lot of support for the war.
Quality is expensive and can be relatively easily overcome by China's quantity AND quality. What Taiwan should focus of is on quantity of munitions, not quantity of people. As the war in Ukraine has shown munition stocks are burned through on a high rate. Taiwan should focus on a large amount of decent anti-tank, anti-air and especially anti-ship missiles.
@@YTStopCensoringFreedomOfspeech That's not true, at least in Poland(I don't know about any other country). They don't really do anything bad aside from being not best drivers. They do tip a lot in restaurants, so that is appreciated by the locals (we don't have tip culture here but more money is always great :)).
Definitely miles better than Soviet soldiers, as someone mentioned in another comments. Cheers!
I feel that if I was trying to defend an island which is separated by 100 miles of water from a much larger and more powerful aggressive neighbour, I would concentrate my efforts on three particular areas: Anti-ship missiles, anti-aircraft defences and a well armed infantry force equipped with an array of drone and anti-tank based weaponry. We have seen in Ukraine just how effective such an infantry force can be against a force that (on paper) should have annihilated all opposition in very short order. With enough anti-shipping weapons the enemy has a major problem in being able to get their troops, tanks, etc on site and with enough anti-aircraft defences it becomes very tricky for the enemy to take out those anti-shipping weapons. Yes, that leaves missiles which is why any left over resources would have to go on things like laser weaponry anti-missile defences to counter that threat but if all these anti-shipping defences are kept mobile (again like examples we have seen used in Ukraine, just ask the crew of the Moskva) the danger of a long range missile strike against them is heavily reduced.
you cant lie tho the cheap amarican m60 plan is genius when he explained it. never thought of it like that before
This doesn't work for Taiwan. An island vs Ukraine, the size of Texas. They need a completely different system.
The problem is Chinese manufacturing accounts for 28.4% of the world's industrial output (by comparison, the United states is only 16.6%) which means there's little stopping them from building an absolute ton of ground-based missiles (which China is already doing) and launching a ton of intel-gathering satellites (which China is already doing) and obliterating enemy anti-ship and S.A.M batteries before they get a chance to do much. If you can't deal with that then any concerted attempt to deny China entry to Taiwan will get obliterated and the morale of Taiwanese fighters will plummet when they see their friends getting annihilated without a chance to fight back. I hope I'm wrong, but it seems to me that unless Taiwan can counter China's missiles either through counter-battery fire, electronic warfare or espionage, there's little hope for victory.
That said, Chinese manufacturing/construction has a long history of over-promising and under-delivering when it comes to build quality, so hopefully that will extend to its missiles as well; but I wouldn't want to gamble my country's future on it.
Problem is China is a different beast. The island of Taiwan is well in range of Chinese long range artillery. The first wave can devastate SAM sites and Anti-ship batteries. Giving example of Ukraine does not fit well in Taiwan's case. Ukraine is facing devastating losses despite constant supply of western equipment. We all know without that supply war would have been over by now. In addition the supply is being consumed at alarming rate. So how long that supply can last. Well, there is no route to provide supplies to Taiwan. None what so ever. So no supply option against an enemy which is world's largest manufacturer and industrial base with largest man-power. Therefore, Pursuing military option is not the right strategy for Taiwan. Engaging chinese leadership politically, creating atmosphere of trust and averting the devastating war is much better option. Reason why Russia & UKraine are in this war is because Ukraine got too close with enemy of Russia (that Americans). Same applies to Taiwan. US is not a sweet friend and its always playing its own games for its own interests. The biggest frustration of China is not the Taiwan, its the US navy vessels which keep going through Taiwan strait and that's means just miles away from China. We all know China desires global ambitions and is attempting to become next super power and in that case it cannot tolerate another super power's military machine at its backyard. If Taiwan understands this and attempts a friendly relations with China then it will be win-win for Taiwan and China and good for the region.
2 words: IRON DOME. X1000 all over the island
Great stuff man. Love your content SF!
I like the idea of capitalizing on the relatively small land mass and simply digging in large scale mass fortifications, combined with complex mazes of underground tunnel structures that allow Taiwan to function like a massive fortress
Taiwan is still a bit too big to fully adopt tunneling everywhere, but it's use at smaller island that's close to china (but now those island is just too close to china for those tunnel from sustaining)
and around the possible landing site at the main island
The bunkers and tunnel in the mountains are already been built, but can only give protection to things with longer reach, like MLRS, anti air defense and protect the command center, some air asset (aircraft stored in tunnel bunker), some of the stock ammo
And the major city with most population is right next to the possible landing site, so if landing actually happened, the fight will be in the concrete jungle
So as a Taiwanese, I knew that the battel for infantry will be at the beach and the major city very close to the landing site/port and all the villages along side the essential road
(noted that unlike the US and Europe, almost all building in Taiwan are built with concrete/reinforced concrete, even in small villages due to Typhoon and earthquake
the )
The house we live in and the city tunnel system will be the bunker
Taiwan has a lot to learn from the war strategy and tactics in Ukraine. With each new conflict, there are always unexpected developments on the battlefield that surprise all.
They need to be digging under ground tunnels like they did to us in ww2
They can’t learn too much. Ukraine has a direct land border with NATO for resupply, but also a direct border that Russia can enter.
Taiwan needs to stop the PLA from ever gaining a foothold.
@@B-G556 No use greek fire. Lol.
I imagine they are pleased over how the current state of war seems to be favoring the defender
@@ghillieguy52Which defender? The Russians, with their 6 lines of defense that stalled/slowed down the major Ukrainian offensive or the tactics used by Ukrainians to keep the Russians from capturing more land that they already have?
Taiwan can afford to spend relatively less because when you think about it, they only have to defend a few key points of the island. China can only flex its Army when it can use its Army. In order to do that, China has to establish and hold a beach head and Taiwan has very few places that's viable for a large-scale beach head. China's issues though is that it doesn't have the troop transport capability to transport and land a lot of its equipment all at once. Those ships are also extremely vulnerable to anti-ship missiles as most of them are commandeered civilian transports and ferries. That's why Taiwan has invested in a ton of anti-ship missiles. They know that China's Navy has to do all of the heavy lifting in order to get the ball rolling. China's military has little to no military combat experience and China's Navy has no experience establishing a beach head against hostile forces. The U.S. is one of the few nations that's done it several times and have train the Taiwanese how to better defend against large-scale coordinated landings which is what China is stuck doing due to the lack of prime coastline for suck a landing.
The other major issue that China has, and is probably the one that's really cooled them off in the backroom planning is that they need to capture Taiwan's industry intact. Otherwise, the whol endeavor is literally a giant resource sink and would only make China weaker and bring nothing to boost their strength. I can bet you that Taiwan will sabotage and destroy their chip foundries at the first hint of invasion and will recoup the costs later if they make it out the other end. Many of their top engineers for making such foundries have already moved to the U.S., Europe and Australia setting up new foundries. There's really no way that China could win such a war without going broke in the process. At best, they'd end up winning burning wreckage that they'd just have to pay to rejuvenate and would have lost nearly entirely the technological bridge they needed to reach Western parity.
not really, all china has to do is blockade the island.
We will not need a Taiwan invasion to trash the Chinese economy. It is already unravelling. e.g. the largest real estate company is just about dead and the second largest just, essentially, declared bankruptcy, several days ago. The whole industry owes trillions. And most smaller municipalities are, tied into this mess and are also in the same financial predicament. Youth unemployment is high (30%?) and they are restless. there are many other parlous problems, too many to list here. Mr. Xi is no help. He has strengthened his power and has sacked numerous rival politicians and technocrats and replaced them with a legion of unqualified yes men. He is increasingly relying on central planning to 'remedy' all his problems. It did not work for Russia and Eastern Europe. and it will not for China. China's abusive behavior toward numerous other countries and has highlighted it's hegemenous plans and put them all on notice Good luck Mr. Xi Jin Ping.
I think you forget air assault in your scenario.
Though landing supplies to those paratroopers will be difficult if the PLA can't take a beach.
Lol. If you think “blowing up the foundry” is a deterrent, you are forgetting US policy of stopping China from purchasing most advanced chips have basically made that a moot point. Right now the only thing it could accomplish is ending supply of chips for everyone else.
@@jeffshackleford3152 Air assault would be a big give away since the US would see it coming a mile away and warn Taiwan just like they did with Russia. Sending 2 jets in to Taiwan air space is no big deal BUT let it be 20+ that's a different story your gonna see the build up. China do not know what or have ever done SEAD operations before (good luck if they ever try it, since none of there aircrafts have the capabilities for it).
High quality content!
Greetings from Latvia!
Respect and support to Taiwan from the Philippines
You don’t speak for all Filipinos
For the record Chris, I love the Proverbs you include in your videos. I think it helps highlight the fact that every country or people have contributed to the wisdom of the world. I love learning about the cultures of different places from your videos. Keep it up!
Lmao really? A couple of proverbs is "learning about the cultures" to you? There are way more effective ways to do that, you know?
Lol, some are not even Taiwanese proverbs but Ancient Chinese's. And he is using them in the wrong context, it is just cheesy to hear those. "Water can help a boat float but can also sink it" as metaphor of weapon saturation? This is a shallow af interpretation. It should be a metaphor for the power of the people and masses.
Exactly, the sloppy mis-appropriation of ancient wisdom is perfectly in line with the "don't take me too seriously" comedic vibe. Keep it up, dude. 🤣
Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand, India, and any other countries in Asia and the Pacific that have fear of CCP aggression need to form a military and economic alliance.
I second this
The most likely strategy, already practised, is a blockade of Taiwan.
The strongest equivalent response is blockading the Malacca Strait. That's where India and Australia are a big deal.
A Pacific NATO is long overdue, and someday one can imagine the unification of it and NATO, creating a democratic global alliance the like of which could stabilize and unify the entire planet.
@@Russo-Delenda-Est Easier said than done. It is an enormous achievement to create the QUAD. Eg. India is in BRICS at the same.
QUAD exists purely cause of China. That's enough.
NATO was formed to keep Russia out, America in and Germany down. It did that job very well.
There shouldn't be expansion of those things unless there's a specific need.
They have. Japan, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Malaysia and Singapore have mutual defence treaties with the United States and each other going back decades.
ANZUS, FPDA and Five Eyes intelligence arrangements are also involved with Japan being brought into the loop last year.
Keep up the amazing work Cappy
Awesome as always !
Perhaps having caches of weaponry, munitions, and rations evenly distributed around the country and easily accessible by civilians is best. The Taiwanese already have conscription so all males have baisc training. All that's needed is to be able to arm the population in short notice and the Chinese would have to fight for every yard and street.
Conscription is slavery.
@@ikematthews6866 Said no Citizen of Switzerland.
Like it. The Swiss model fits well here. Every male between 18-50 should be in the reserves, and have quick access to their arms.
@@ikematthews6866 Unfortunately that's the necessary evil when there is a massive and aggressive neighbour who wants any excuse to destroy you. It's duty and there is no room to let go of it.
@@jasonwooden 1) Switzerland doesn’t need a draft because from what? It’s basically for traditional reasons
2) if Switzerland people want to volunteer for the military then they should buy you can’t force people to fight, that’s called slavery.
I've always loved the proverbs you include in your videos. I think its awesome that the army does this in their presentations as well.
From the bit I understood before watching this, aka a "dumbed down version" Taiwan geographic approach is very similar to the Swiss gameplan. Aside from the, you know, Naval and Political angles (which are HUGE elements) .....idk just how I had it in my head. But thanks to another awesome breakdown from this "Average Infantryman" I can see how they're really emphasizing that Asymmetrical approach.. Thanks bro! Love your channel, great neisch!!
I REALLY like your pragmatic approach and presentation. Great view points.
Thanks, Cappy, always a great overview of the military situations around the world. You make me sound smart when I'm talking to my friends.😆
In the C20th Taiwan’s strategy was to be militarily too difficult for China to invade. Then it was to be economically too useful so the West would help defend it. In the C21st it’s being too economically useful to the Chinese economy by being independant. The idea is to make destroying Taiwan for political or military reasons seem irrational to the PRC. By tying itself to South China Sea collective defence, it’s continuing that undelying strategy of being the poisoned pill and much better to leave alone. Honestly they’re just waiting for the PRC to fail and then they’ll adapt to that reality.
Problem is that it doesn't matter to rabid dictators who readily harm their own country to "do something big"
The silicon shield is real. The West can't afford to lose TSMC to China.
Unfortunately, being irrational won’t necessarily stop China. E.g. banning Micron's chips or unnecessarily inflaming stoking tensions with neighbors without obvious gain
As a Taiwanese, I can confirm this is The video to understand Taiwan's defense strategy. Hope Chris can come to Taiwan someday.
Seeing small countries prepare and be willing to fight a total war regardless of the odds is a culture shock to the superpowers that think they have a choice
wow, new to earth? we seen that in 50s, 60s, 70s, 90s and 2000s, even now, superpower supported terrorist and occupying small country to steal resources, dont feel like theres any culture shock at all.
Yeah this SMALL COUNTRY you mentioned is literally called The Republic of China, and it's not called Taiwan. Have you ever wondered why？Yes, it was the unfinished Civil War between The People's Republic of China(Mainland China) and The Republic of China(Taiwan Island). Guess who's playing the word game and fool everyone and not even having the guts to face the history.
Taiwan is not a country. It's an unfinished civil war
My favorite part about these videos is the local quotes that help us understand their mindset and decisions
yes!
its badly translated and a bit corny but its a nice touch. a few tai commenters pointed out that they translations were weird.
Thanks for your video. I have followed Taiwan/China issues for years but I learnt a lot here. Never realised the conversion from kmt dictatorship to democracy was also to make a bigger cultural and political link to the USA and wealthy democracies . I also hadn't realised having long range heavy missiles might not actually deter, or really hurt China.
Always good info, thanks
I like the proverbs and broader context - keep it up
The F/A-18 Super Hornet runs out of orders in 2025 & will cease production. If the USA offered 40-60 new Super Hornets to Taiwan, it would boost air defences against PLAAF incursions & keep Boeing workers busy.
@audacity60: Never happen. For some reason, Taiwan is not allowed to purchase the G.E. F-404/F-414 engine that powers the F/A 18, which is why Taiwan was not allowed to buy the F-20 Tigershark or power their indigenous F-CK 1 fighter with the F-404. Ironically, Taiwan is allowed to buy F-16s which are powered with the much more capable F-100 turbofan. No, it doesn't make sense to me either.
But than after 2025 the taiwanese won't be able to upkeep these planes? Or do parts supplies keep happening after?
@@thotmorgana The Super Hornet will still be in service with USN (& Kuwait) for many years to come.
They need old Super Harriers and ideally F-35B's, but small chance that'll happen. Their runways will most likely be cratered in the first day, so VTOL is a huge deal.
They’ll be more orders for more growlers or something to keep that line open until at least 2030. DOD doesn’t want to rely on a single contractor. Same with F-15EX’s. More of those will be produced than F-22’s when it’s all said or done.
I grew up in Taiwan in the 1960-70 under “martial law”. At that time, it was thought there might be a chance to go back to the mainland. Martial law was in name only. I never experienced any restrictions as a student. The economic success are primarily due to the hard works and far sight in investing in high technology. Like all Chinese culture, there is a strong emphasis in education. I am always grateful for my childhood growing up in there.
I heard the martial law time period was brutal. What do u mean with in name only.
Well I mostly only know how the government treated the revolts.
Still the whole history from Taiwan is astonishing.
The Qing couldn't integrate the island, the Japanese changed it forever yet after WW2 it was going back into madarin as the main language. And after the civil war in mainland, the government went to exile in taiwan.
sorry for this long answer im just some german guy who loves history
Yeah, even if your experience was broadly true, it was still a dictatorship, and every dictatorship is brutal to some people. And while most Americans thought Taiwan was the *better* dictatorship than the PRC, it always left a bad taste in people’s mouths to promise to spend resources to “defend” one dictatorship from another in what was ostensibly a civil war, when on paper the only real difference was one was Communist and the other wasn’t. Especially after the expense and similar moral dubiousness of the Korean and Vietnam wars. The return to full democracy removed that doubt (which the PRC would have been sure to exploit had invasion attempts gotten farther in that era) from the equation.
@@spotlight2164 am from china, living abroad, hope china/taiwan can finally get along like germany/austria. I like history too, both have troubled past. prussia-austria war etc. and how anschluss ended... i admired taiwanese administration and governance. and in fact till this day there're still quite many chinese regarding taipei as the legitimate government. (I guess this is one factor ccp so eager to annex taiwan, is to supress the 'alternative' option for people to fancy). but the sad truth I reckon is since so many years of partition, paths will drift apart. when china can liberalize, two nations will likely to coexist peacefully.
It did not affect you, doesn't mean it didn't affect someone else.
just my personal experience@@spotlight2164
You've done your research and state the fact. Great video.
Yet another great piece of information, opinion, and insight into key region of the world.
It is not the percentage of GPD that Taiwan spends, it's how it spends it. It needs it's own version of A2AD. More required reserve training and supply depots is a good place to start. Taiwan has to buy time, that is their entire strategy.
This is quite informative video comparing to some other Taiwan defense video imo. The only problem I have, and it does show a general confusion, is regarding the use of term "asymmetrical." Certainly, the ODC (which btw, was developed due to lack of resource & support because of that huge slash of spending by pro-Beijin ex-president Ma's gov, the 1.6% on your graph, not because it's a superior strategy in every way) was asymmetrical, but so is large number of anti-ship missiles (A2/AD) strategy. The USN called PLA's rocket force as "asymmetrical", so could be Taiwan's missile forces against PLAN. So is submarine, as some people regard it as "asymmetrical" weapons especially considering PLAN's anti-sub capability is still quite poor. But whatever the case, my point is, as I heard in a conf about Taiwan's defense before, this whole thing about what is "asymmetrical" and what is not "asymmetrical" only creates confusion in the US and Taiwan. You can argue a lot of things as "asymmetrical", like suicide bombs (terrorist groups) and nuclear bombs (North Korea). But a lot of them Taiwan does not need, should not use or cannot get. One dude say this is asymmetrical, another dude will say it's not asymmetrical or it's useless. So IMO, instead of arguing over if Taiwan is focusing on "asymmetrical" defense or not, should just focus on what Taiwan can use or should use to defend, what could be effective & what might not work etc, whether they are traditional weapons or new type of weapons, "asymmetrical" or not
DUDE! Great analysis of the situation! I also liked how you looked at the opposing opinions. AAAAA+++++
8:52 this is the kind of thing you should release as a short. You explained something here. It’s interesting. People are less likely to watch this video later. They’re lesa likely to watch to this moment later.
In 2 years time MORE people would hear this as a stand alone brief message explaining something about your channel. Especially with a good title and thumbnail.
As a aging Fast Attack submarine sailor, thank you for your honest assessments. I know well how we could turn the tides, but our 'leadership' doesn't care about our alleys, let alone out own country.
I think the best defence for Taiwan is to have a mix of both strategies. have your long range capabilities to be able to strike Chinese forces anywhere you need, but then have the flexibility and equipment/ability to fight an asymmetric war once Chinese forces reach the mainland
I think Taiwan should learn from what the Japanese did in places like Iwo Jima. Basically burrow into the mountains and put all of their ordinance / ammunition in there where it can't be hit regardless of how much the Chinese pound it. Then make it extremely costly for an invader to take even an inch of the island. If it costs your enemy 1 life to take 1 square inch, then you hope they will run out of lives before you run out of square inches.
@@philshyu5248 I wouldn’t be surprised if quite a bit of their ammunition and war gear and stuff are stored in the mountains, maybe even some command posts, but if they do, I’ve not seen anyone talk about it, just their strategies
@@philshyu5248taiwan army hide their tanks in civilian community, lol they learn from hamas instead of asian nazi. Iwo Jima is no administration centre, Taiwan island itself station the seat of government, and no matter how many people try so hard to deny it, taiwanese are mostly chinese and this is chinese civil war, losing the last seat of power would have a huge psychological impact on the will to resist as it mark the end of the war.
Insane how you make what is essentially a documentary but with no empty filler in just a few days. And based sponsorships
The goat guns ad was amazing.
Like what I said in many different channels and videos, as a Taiwanese and American Citizen currently live in Taiwan, I will defend my country and fight for freedom and democracy.
As an American citizen who’s family all lives in Taiwan i can safely say you are one of the few that will. Also taiwanese doesnt exist. You are chinese. The commie rebels and your current administration seems to be hell bent on making you forget that.
🇦🇹🇪🇺❤🇹🇼
Lol there is no democracy, only power.
Nice job on the video, Cappy…very interesting. I’m also a fool forever and wouldn’t have it any other way…not being a fool is much too boring.
great content
Even your commercials are entertaining! Tell Goat Guns I didn't skip it!
I think people incorrectly apply asymmetric warfare principles from Ukraine to Taiwan. If Chinese tanks land on the island, the war is already lost, and no amount of javelins or quadcopters with grenades will change that. Asymmetric warfare in Taiwan mean as many anti ship and air defense missiles as possible, to prevent forces landing. Tanks can be useful as deployed from bunkers as well. 1000 long range missiles gives credible deterence as well because CCP may be able to survive a million casualties, but missile strikes that saturate air defense and strike Beijing, Fujian, and Shanghai will have a massive psychological impact and weaken their grip on power. Missiles striking the forbidden city or Zhongnanhai would signal the loss of the mandate of heaven.
Idk about the first part of your statement. There is very little land for them to land their tanks on. A flat strip on the western coast. Anything landing there will be a prime target and javelins could do a lot against their tanks in that situation.
@@huwhitecavebeast1972 he is right. You're focusing on the weed level but missing the forest. By the time troops land, that means you have already lost air/sea superiority. All this talk about where to land and such is the difference between a big or small speed bump. Taiwan is an island and depends on LNG to be shipped in. DPP's insane energy policy has already made electricity in short supply. All this fancy hardware still needs gas/electricity to operate. If PLAN/PLAAF has a cordon around the island, you're just extending the end date by whatever resource you use up.
Well you are correct, but China would have to maintain that blockade. Long-range anti-ship missiles will mean huge losses for China. If the Chinese subs can be kept away or destroying that would go a long way from keeping China off the shores of Taiwan. In the end though it will be bad for all.
yes good idea attacking Shanghai Beijing Shenzhen 😅😅😅
All striking the forbidden city would do is to make TW into a parking lot and incur world wide condemnation. Not the brightest idea.
as for your other suggestions, there's not enough payload to make much of a dent in either actual or psychological damage.
Taiwan is a lot smarter than that brute force option.
They make it incredibly stupid and loaded with consequences to attack them. China is definitely aware of that, probably a lot more than the US who seem to understand one language and fails to understand that others have more tools in their tool box.
I respect Taïwan for that because despite all the claimed support, they really work with half allies and put a lot of efforts in diplomacy and economic power.
Tauwan is part of China . End of story
Usa lost to afghans.
I remember those location briefings, I was very diligent with taking notes during those briefings because I'm a very socially awkward person and someone telling me what would otherwise be the unwritten social rules were was awesome. Give me one of those briefings about the US.
And I really like the local proverbs in your videos, they're very nice to think about, enhance the point you're making well, and I've used a few of them in conversation.
This episode was hilarious. Thanks cappy!
There's possibly an extra point to be made here about the pivot to the long range missiles over the asymmetric warfare option. Destruction of the Three-Gorges Dam (while it would undoubtedly be a war-crime) would leave huge swathes of China in ruins. By simply having the capability to destroy it with long range missiles, Taiwan creates a huge MAD (mutually assured destruction) scenario and possible lessons the possibility of a Chinese invasion.
Yes,but this move won't work if the dam is emptied before the hits. People talk a lot about this strategy now. 🔥🔥🔥
The Three Gorges Dam is 115 meters thick at the base and 40 meters thick at the top.
Conventional ballistic missiles can't destroy the Three Gorges Dam. It would take a nuclear bomb to destroy it.
And the Three Gorges Dam is in the center of China, so it would have to penetrate multiple layers of air defense interceptors.
The Three Gorges Dam is going to fall apart by itself already. I could see how a sudden "structural failure" could happen during wartime.
That's war crime.
We might get a quick boost in military readiness by training our reservists more extensively - by giving them a sudden burst of readiness training. They wouldn't need to take over jobs that require top of the line training, but they could handle less involved jobs.
Great video
Best part is when you get in a local quote or proverb - how do you come up with these :D Keep it up!
It seems like a drone underwater sea mine would be pretty clutch in this; Taiwan could quickly mine its territorial waters and adjust the field to account for any mine clearing. If it kept the fields within range of their own artillery they could discourage mine clearing as well. It wouldn't prevent the island from being pounded, but it would reduce even further the amount and types of troops that could be landed.
Since it doesn't seem to be mentioned here yet, Taiwan's military has a body armor problem whereby the standard issue plates are outdated and would not protect them against PLA small arms. Look up the video "Taiwan Military Threatens Action Over Body Armor Test" for more information.
I think if it comes down to bullets they’ve lost, that’s the current strategy. Its never been about just military hardware since the 1960s, its been about being more than an island near China and being an independent entity that matters globally. I just bought a Taiwanese laptop and its the bomb, I couldn’t be happier with it. That identity matters globally.
@@MsZeeZed While I don't disagree, none of that really ever removes the sword of Damocles hanging over them at the end of the day, nor does it grant them true "independence", especially not when more countries increasingly tiptoe around the issue to avoid offending China.
South Korea is in a similar situation, but they have a smaller opponent with less resources to deal with.
Chinese history is full of rump states that eventually get crushed, and none has defied that pattern to my knowledge.
@@BlackMetalVengeanceI suggest you look into Korean and Vietnamese history for “rump states” that burned China badly. China also fragments about every century…(because North China, Central China and South China are completely at odds with each other culturally).
@@allangibson8494 Korea and Vietnam weren't Chinese rump states from the previous dynasties, and they were always at the edge of the empire. That's like saying that the Persians were Romans.
@@BlackMetalVengeance The Roman’s never ruled Persia. The Chinese Yuan dynasty ruled Korea (repeatedly) and China ruled Vietnam from 112 BC to 938AD… (which is like claiming Italy wasn’t part of the Roman Empire).
LOVED the GOAT GUN bit! 🤣
Fantastic video
"You are not spending enough !" - every American arms company
Don’t worry that’s why they have invested in undercover pro-war, seemingly independent YoooTooob channels like this one. They know people are waking up & no longer trusting the giant “news” corporations so here they are
Might i introduce you to psa
I'm sure the chinese are also happy that taiwan isn't spending
Normally it's true but when your main threat is spending hard and building fast you might want to listen. Hearing those words when you're far out in front is one thing, hearing them when you're falling behind is another.
Taiwan currently: "Your delivering too slow!"
where are the F16V, javelin, stinger, HIMARS, TOW, M1A2 ......we ordered around 2018 ~2022
and mind add some NASMS to the order list?
also we still really want to buy some paladin howitzer, maybe change your mind and sell us some
Chris I'm an Aussie who wants to join in the hopes of defending Tawain.. but I feel like there is no more "fighting" anymore, i'd go out there being a "badass" and probably just get droned before I knew it.
It's not really different from World War One. There is definitely a fight. Ukraine and the various Middle East wars have proven this. You just also might randomly die by forces you don't even have knowledge of. But as in Vietnam these outside forces can't win the conflict on the ground by themselves.
I'd prefer that to being gored and stepped on by a war elephant 😂
Lol yup. China will use their A.I., USA will use their A.I. and we'd be killing each other while A.I. quietly learns...
Australie, US ans UN recognize that Taiwan is part of China, so who give Australia the legitimacy to get involved in Chinese civil war?
If you're not already a Aus SAS operator begging for an opportunity to fight a near peer enemy, I'm guessing the moment you get there and realise that popping your head up (or just getting blown up by artillery sitting in a trench) could mean dying or getting brutally disfigured you'll wish you stayed at home and didn't take not being in the middle of a war for granted.
When I was a kid I LOVED the F-86. I had models, puzzles, posters… Good times ❤
Wonderful video
It's also good to bear in mind that Taiwan is very mountainous, with only a strip of relatively flat land down the west coast for conventional maneuver warfare. One thing this means is that, after crossing the huge killing field called the Taiwan Strait, CHICOM forces will be stuck in a small area between the sea and the mountains.
If it comes to shooting, the Communist strategy may well be a bombardment strategy, where the depth of Taiwanese missile inventory would be critical.
The USA should give Taiwan a 2 for 1 deal on fighters and tanks. They recently purchased 66 new F-16s and 108 new Abrams tanks. Send them double that instead, funded by foreign military aid. 132 F-16s and 216 Abrams would go much further towards replacing their legacy platforms.
Very informative.
Thanks for this video! Love the informative content, and using WarOnTheRocks as a reference.
Sadly, the comments section is ... sigh ...
The geography could be an advantage: They can swiss-cheese that whole island's mountains with tunnels, and keep an unknown and unlimited amount of supplies totally beyond reach of anything but nukes. Finland has done some similar projects. Meanwhile, all the earth they dig up making the tunnels can be used to create even stronger coastal defenses or even artificial islands. So the island would become not just a "porcupine" but a "beehive."
Finland?
@@vincedhilandulay7798 I'm not super-informed about it, but Finland evidently has a lot of tunnels under its cities that it's been building for decades. Obviously it's a different scene from Taiwan, but there are analogies. They each have some natural defenses, small populations concentrated on a single large city, and have lived their entire existence in the shadow of a much larger and ruthless antagonist.
They were drilling tunnels using large tunneling machines since 1990s. One of those machine went defunct for 2 years due to water sipping through the tunnel. That's a great cover story.
I'm not even all that interested in military stuff, but I subscribed to this channel a while back.
I like variety in my YT recommendations: history, nature, science, technology, entertainment etc. Military channels are dime a dozen on YT, but only a very few get it right! Especially geopolitics, but most of all, no overt USA patriotism or bias! 👍
or wacky accents or weird voices
@@billyhayden6017 😆
The so-called "Mig-15" at 4:39 is wrong. Instead, it should be La-174.
I loved the Taiwanese proverbs sprinkled in there! Great views. Thanks!
The ability (and expressed intent in the event of an invasion) to blow a large hole in the Three Gorges Dam seems a highly desirable goal -- almost like having some tactical nukes. Taiwan has those indigenously produced supersonic cruise missiles, but I suppose it would take quite a few of those to make a dent in that much reinforced concrete. So keep cranking those those out, I say. And obviously they need anti-aircraft/missile and anti-ship systems at a large scale.
A full-scale invasion is likely to be disastrous for China as well as Taiwan. I can't imagine them taking Taiwan in any sort of clean way. They can reduce Taipei to smoldering ruins probably, but to what end? Crossing the strait, landing troops and armor and everything else needed for a war on Taiwan soil is a huge, highly complex undertaking -- many ships will be destroyed during crossing, and PLA soldiers will be walking into an absolute meat-grinder on the beaches. Casualties will be obscene.
And smashing Taiwan will absolutely wreck China's economy, and it's in very poor shape right now as it is.
If you think your whole country being fried by nuclear fire is better than living under an authoritarian government who will want your Island to prosper technologically and thus the people having a relatively good life. Then yeah that's a great plan
Might not take as many as you think, doesn't have to penetrate the dam, just has to weaken it. The force of the water against it is tremendous.
@@016.kazinakibafjal2 Ok, Wu Mao.
@@huwhitecavebeast1972 - Yeah, maybe. Any hydraulic engineers in the house?
It doesn't seem like a very good play for China. It's also likely to start world war 3. China will get nothing worthwhile, Taiwan will be destroyed, and the US, Japan and other allies will lose much.
And I doubt very much that China will treat Taiwan very well after. Just look at what happened in Hong Kong. No one wants to live under that kind of rule.
Taiwan is fighting for their life, for about 50 years.
I have mad respect for that.
Dude, you got the best ads Cappy 😂
@Taskandpurpose I have been listening for a while but had to ask if you were with 2 SCR on Vilseck? I was stationed Camp Aachen in Grafenwoehr for a few years, during the same time frame if my guess is correct. I was there 2012-2015.
Asymmetrical will always be best when facing a much larger force. Look back to when the Kurds against Sadam had success for decades because they stayed asymmetrical and as soon as they fought a conventional war they played into Iraq’s strength and suffered great defeats. I think them going the North Korea route (in only this area obviously) and making the most of their mountainous terrain with extensive bunkers and artillery positions would be their best bet while committing their infantry in an asymmetrical fashion. Truly a rock and a hard place and a great look at both sides as usual cappy
The geography might not (totally) able these strategy
The mountain is all located in the center of the island too far for artillery to hit the coast where the PLA will land
, and unlike Switzerland there aren't any flat valley in those mountains, so you can't retreat civilians or stage large scale asset into those area
The bunkers in the mountains are already been built, but can only give protection to things with longer reach, like MLRS, anti air defense and protect the command center, some air asset (aircraft stored in tunnel bunker), some of the stock ammo
The battel for infantry will be at the beach and the major city very close to the landing site/port and all the villages along side the essential road
noted that unlike the US and Europe, almost all building in Taiwan are built with concrete/reinforced concrete, even in small villages due to Typhoon and earthquake
So as a Taiwanese, I don't think retreat and dragging the fight into mountain will work, the major city with most population is right next to the possible landing site, so if landing actually happened, the fight will be in the concrete jungle
Its too strategically important to lose (so it's been said) so US citizens will be paying more
One of, if not the biggest chip manufacturer in the world. Yeah, very important in this day and age.
Maybe if the Chinese take Taiwan and economically devastate the U.S the immigrants will leave.
@@Western_Decline lol, F16s in the pipeline and the first Abrams coming soon, but yea, we're just walking away.[
if u want a safe iphone then u should be glad
@@tonymorris4335 you sure have physiognomy of someone who enjoys their bread and circuses.
Chris, how fo you do it? It's like taking a college course each video. Awesome
Cappy excellent video! It's great to develop high end weapons (they should) but mines, obstacles, AShM small fast boats and distributed all over the place is really the unglamorous answer.
Can you do a video on Wagner near the Polish border?
Taiwan is surrounded by waters therefore a viable option is to enhance the coastal/Littoral defense force of Taiwan by developing/building numerous cost-effective and affordable platforms like coastal defence submarines (120-ton to 500-ton displacement) , aerial kamikaze drone waters, shored based anti-missiles, aerial surveillance drones, unmanned aerial combat drones, decoys, mobile MLRS, GBADs (short, medium, & long range), man-portable weapons( MANPADs & ATGMs), etc.
Midget subs sound like utter deathtraps in this day and age. Their extremely short endurance and low ammunition capacity would mean they'd have to return to base after a week or two at most and they would be easy pickings pierside.
those are the exact things that we Taiwan are trying to acquire, stockpile and develop
we can finally able to acquire small conventional submarine
we planed to double the shored based anti ship asset
get more small mobile anti air defense system (long range GBAD is already saturated, we can only stock more missile and work on integrating systems)
More new fast/small boat with anti ship missiles (and point air defense) are built
we already stock pile a lot of ATGM and MANPAD, and still getting more (but the order is likely delayed)
the order for MLRS and ATACMS is placed but likely delayed, mines are also bought
but the drone development isn't focused enough in the past, so more money and resource is pouring into it
you missed the most important one naval MINES 💀💀💀
the problem of An island Nation is it's easier to blockade by a navy, Most of Taiwan food and energy are imported from abroad, so it will a huge blow if China block all of sea access of taiwan.
Remember a heavily defended fortification is easily defeated if the defendent are surrounded and running out of supply
@@user-gc1hg9sp9k well it depends on it's a blockade during full assault or blockade without
In the later situation, Taiwan can really defend it only with international pressure (both political and economic)
And any enforcement to perform a truly full blockade might easily cause escalation, thus hard to performed (e.g. Israeli vessel breaks through Moscow’s Black Sea grain blockade)
In the first situation, under high intensity combat, commercial activity / manufacture will stop, energy and food consumption will lower significantly (to 1/3 or even lower)
the food and energy storage may last longer then people think, at least it'll likely last way longer then the ammunition, hardware and medicine
Excellent video and thanks for the insight into the Taiwanese culture.
Judged by the presents you receive I love it.
If the Japanese had two years to bolster defenses of Iwo Jima, imagine what the Taiwanese could do in ten years.
Not 10, it's 70
That's a lotta blush, Cappy!
Goverment:
We need to add military spending.
Infantry:
We would like-
Military brass: No you do not need anything.