You should book a flight ticket to Beijing, take a cab to the August 1st Building, and voice your concerns there. I'm sure that the people there would be very enlightened by your proposal.
PLA strike strategies in westpac HIC
- Thread starter SEAD
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You should book a flight ticket to Beijing, take a cab to the August 1st Building, and voice your concerns there. I'm sure that the people there would be very enlightened by your proposal.
Dude watched the Cold War and decided to emulate the loser.
"Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children."
Ironically, the modern US has also forgotten the lessons of its own past. Always funny how you can find quotes from FDR, Eisenhower, etc, talking about the same problems.
Suppose you have $5m. You can spend it on a machine tool which you then use to produce goods you can sell. After a few years the machine has paid for itself and from then until it finally breaks down it's all gravy.
Or you can spend the $5m on a tank. It sits in a shed for 30 years, occasionally gets taken out to trundle round some fields, every decade or so needs an upgrade and all the time costing $$$ and not producing anything.
Now do you understand?
Or you can spend the $5m on a tank. It sits in a shed for 30 years, occasionally gets taken out to trundle round some fields, every decade or so needs an upgrade and all the time costing $$$ and not producing anything.
Now do you understand?
Don’t worry. Golden Dome + Starlink Orbital AWAC is actually next generational Death Star capability and would render any PRC efforts moot.
On the topic of Iwo Jima - Assuming that China possess the capability of both capturing and holding the island in the future, technically speaking, China could erect an early-warning radar system that can expand China's missile warning horizon much further eastwards. A three-faced LPAR radar on the island is the best option.
However, given the relative isolation of the island, alongside its wide exposure to sea-based (Virginia SSNs and SSGNs with Tomahawk and/or CPS) and aerial-based attacks (standoff missile attacks by bombers and/or carrier-based fighters) without nearby landmass support to provide in-time cover, especially when the war is still very much ongoing - LPAR-type system is out of the question.
That means until the war ends with China still holding onto Iwo Jima - Only less-expensive facilities and systems could be built there. Something that can both be erected quickly, eating comparably fewer resources, and can be repaired, replaced or rebuilt quickly in case of destruction from enemy action.
Of course, this also brings the question on whether it's better for the PLAN to procure something of a sea-based early warning radar platform that can move around.
One possible option would be something akin to the SBX-1, which is an X-band AESA radar based on a modified oil rig platform that can be move around (although with a very slow top speed of less than 10 knots). If Iwo Jima (or any opposing island) can been captured, then these platforms can be moved to be stationed there. The massive size associated with such platforms mean that they are more stable and capable of housing larger systems which would be deemed impractical for warships.
Another option would be a missile tracking and defense (BMD) ship, i.e. something similar to the ASEV pair which are currently being built for the JMSDF. They are certainly smaller and less capable compared to the aforementioned oil rig-based and land-based systems, but their speed and mobility means that they can be very flexible in terms of deployment, alongside being superior in terms of survivability.
I'd say that the 1st option would do good for basing at Iwo Jima (or any captured outlying islands in the 1IC and 2IC), while keeping the 2nd option for flexible, wide-reaching early-warning coverage.
I actually somewhat agree with you that it's better to overestimate your enemy than trying to underestimate them. But that said you need stop thinking that america + allies has x amount of fighter jet vs x amount of china. And they need to be equal. Think of like this way. How many fighter jet will they able to bring to fight china? How many bases america has in Asia to counter china? Is x amount of bases enough to counter china? Do they have capability defend their base from incoming vast amount of Chinese missile? How many hours will it take transport their military equipment from american base to their military base in Asia? How many countries are willing to fight against china? The thing is america is fighting in Chinese territory. China can give 100% fight. They can use every fighter jet, warship, missile to fight against America and it's allies. whereas america has to depend on their allies to attack china. So they can't use every fighter jet even if they want. Sending every carrier is also a big risk as china have the capability to track and destroy each carrier. Even top us officials admit that.
Except China already has a history of being invaded by economically weaker, yet more hostile powers. Because it failed to provide for its own defense. Do you want a repeat of that?
Can you point to any instance of a currently weaker power that is hostile and planning on invading?
History counts for nothing, if there is nothing to draw parallels with.
The US is already posting "military advisors" in Taiwan counter to agreements signed decades ago. But sure whatever.
Here is the problem with this thinking. What you said is true in peace time when the likelihood of war is far away. Then it makes sense to use your $5m to buy machine tools, build up factories, make money.
But what if the world has become a dangerous place, what if your enemies want to kill you now before you become rich? Do you still focus on building machine tools or do you build weapons to guard yourself. Because when the war starts, its what you have at that moment that counts. You can't count on your factories if those will be destroyed.
The world is not secure enough right now cause US is in decline and China is rising. The status quo is gone. Everyone is agitating. You can't count on the fact that your tanks and planes will rust in storage for another 30 years. There could be a flashpoint next month and you might need them.