The best and perhaps the only way for Taiwan to deter a mainland invasion is for a ''whole of society'' mobilization. Every facet of Taiwan's society has to be geared towards stopping the mainland. Ironically, Taiwan, basically the state, Taiwan was before, it became ''democratized''. Taiwan must become very thing that Taiwanese independence supporters despise. The type of society it was during the martial law era. At the end of the day, Chiang has the last laugh over any of those self righteous who attack his statues and legacy. The 'feel good'' identity politics of Taiwanese independence has made them weak.
Taiwan Military News, Reports, Data, etc.
- Thread starter Gollevainen
- Start date
Taiwan is not a martial nation. Military spending is 2% of their GDP - that's less than China. Taiwanese do not wake up every morning hating or fearing mainlanders, even if the leaders do.
Just as the Afghan forces collapsed when the Taliban approached the gates of Kabul, so would the Taiwanese. Not because they're incompetent or disorganised, but because they won't care enough to fight against their ethnic kin. They could be offered a one nation two systems for the next 30 years and things would largely go back to how they were - after the arrest or deportation of a few prominent elites.
Given whats unfolded in Afghanistan, it wouldn't surprise me if the Chinese turned up on the island in the middle of the night, ready to take over.
The first time Biden would know about it would be his morning diaper change, and it would be too late by then.
Just as the Afghan forces collapsed when the Taliban approached the gates of Kabul, so would the Taiwanese. Not because they're incompetent or disorganised, but because they won't care enough to fight against their ethnic kin. They could be offered a one nation two systems for the next 30 years and things would largely go back to how they were - after the arrest or deportation of a few prominent elites.
Given whats unfolded in Afghanistan, it wouldn't surprise me if the Chinese turned up on the island in the middle of the night, ready to take over.
The first time Biden would know about it would be his morning diaper change, and it would be too late by then.
Footage of first AIM-120D missile launch in Taiwan has been released recently.
I mean, both sides are going to push the envelope as far as they can, in the overall geopolitical domain, short of war.
It's to be expected.
Minor correction: China spends about 1.3% of GDP on defense, the lowest among the major powers. On one hand, this shows the self-restraint by China. On the other hand, it also means that there is huge room for significant increase in defense spending should the situation call for. On top of it, China is one of the very few countries in the world with self-sufficient MIC, which means that the spending in purchasing power parity (PPP) would be the more appropriate base for comparison.
Bottom line: when core national interest is threatened, China can crank up defense spending quickly and substantially.
Dejure*… no, basically it is not, or it would have a seat at the UN, foreign embassies etc. (unless you meant “day-by-day independent?).
Defacto? Sure.
Thanks for a great article.
From the article ...
"A popular yet cynical explanation as to why these Taiwanese soldiers dislike front-line units simply postulates a common aversion to tougher training and combat duty. But interviews with several enlisted ranks painted a more complex picture. Most complained that the food and living conditions left much to be desired—front-line soldiers must split their time between bases and on field exercises. That, on top of the fact they have far more weapons, vehicles, and equipment to clean and maintain, means these posts are perceived as more work for little reward. The existing shortages also cause an even heavier burden of work on the soldiers left—prompting more of them to put in for transfers."
My experience chatting with Taiwanese troops is similar.
I believe the fault lies firmly with their leadership (civil and military) seriously being incompetent or totally out of touch with the rank and file.
The issue of being in a combat unit and having to go out field and having more gear to clean is common in armies the world around. Every line grunt's hatred of REMF stems from this. It's not hard to hate someone when you're all messed up from a week out field and cleaning up while some REMF sits in your LOS having a cold one.
But the above is an issue that all armies face and solve. MOS pay, instilling pride and a raison d'ete (even at the expense of POGs) makes troopers more willing to shoulder the shit they have to crawl through.
My conversations with Taiwanese, as a fellow conscript to conscript (way back before they switched to this summer camp BS training), showed a distinct difference in their morale and motivation which is further exacerbated by I think the most important factor ...
"Most complained that the food and living conditions left much to be desired"
There is nothing more damaging to morale than this. I must say Singapore can take part of the blame cos when the soldiers have point of references to compare with other militaries and see for themselves how "2nd class" they are, morale takes a huge hit.
I know I felt the same way when we did joint ex with the USMC and they are supposed to be the branch that survives on hand me downs. Humbling.
"That’s the case regardless of whether the reservist is a conscript with four months’ training or a five-year veteran paratrooper just discharged from the special forces. The established practice of Taiwan’s Reserve Command, according to Huang, is not to send reservists back to their previous units but to lump everyone together into the newly activated reserve infantry brigades that possess no specialty, no vehicles, and no equipment except rifles (often older types) and are led by called-up reservist officers who have little experience commanding such ad hoc units.
In theory, all soldiers and officers (both conscripts and volunteers) are automatically enrolled as reservists on being discharged from active service. They are called up at most once every two years by the Reserve Command to receive refresher training for five to seven days. In practice, such training rarely consists of more than just basic drills and a short practice session at the rifle range. A reservist corporal who was a veteran M60 tank gunner, for example, will be activated only as an infantry rifleman even if one of the army’s active armor brigades has tanks sitting unmanned in the base."
This is the bit that rams home the point that the leadership is seriously out of touch or incompetent.
I come from a conscript army and we keep the units intact even through the reserve cycles, feeding in replacements to keep the ORBAT up to muster. Units are kept whole in this manner, at the battalion level and still within the parent formation at the Bde/Div level.
If there's one thing that I understand from almost 4 years of total service over a 15 year period, it is that the guys you serve with are what defines your time in uniform and makes it what it is. I am much more motivated and happy when I am out in the field with guys I know over many years of having shed blood, sweat and tears together.
On a couple of reserve cycles where I couldn't join my parent unit, I had to discharge my reserve obligations by putting in time in a sister unit. At least I was serving within the same formation doing what I was trained to do. But still I found that hard going. It's not the same pulling together soldiers in a unit whom you are just marking time with. Your head knows what you have to do but unlike with your mates, your heart needs further motivating.
I can only imagine what it must be like to go from being a highly trained specialist to being just a rifleman, thrown together with a disparate bunch of strangers of varying skill levels and motivation. I suppose the Taiwanese high command assumes every such battalion to be capable of the same feats as the 800? Or perhaps the SOF soldier dumped into that ragtag bunch will lead the unit into acts of heroics the likes of the Tomorrow War? lolz, maybe the Taiwanese leadership should be banned from the movies.
It was mentioned by a Xinjiang tankee that the main gun rounds they fired cost a months salary and they consumed the equivalent of a years salary in one training exercise. That alone highlights the criminal waste of taking a specialist and dumping them into the equivalent of a penal battalion.
If they can't mantain an entire battalion due to lack of numbers, then why not a "Delta Company" of resevist within the parent (active) battalion or if they can't get the numbers, a Platoon 10? At least this way, every trained soldier returns to a familiar parent unit for refresher and can contribute effectively to mantaining combat effectiveness of the unit in peacetime and wartime. Those without parent combat units can be formed into garrison units to secure rear areas where there aren't any major expectation on them to perform feats of heorics.
Thank goodness that when the Singapore Armed Forces, in it's infancy, sought foreign help to set up us right, it was the Israelis that primarily answered the call. To think that we asked India and Taiwan as well ... shudder
manqiangrexue
Brigadier
What doesn't matter? America's most recent failure in Afghanistan doesn't matter cus you don't want it to?
Oh, ok. So this is your explanation for why America's abandonment of Afghanistan doesn't count, just like Georgia, Ukraine, and Vietnam and that they don't matter so people should still trust the US? LOL
A remnant of a time when China was weak, to be rectified by a new China.
This is a sentence? Whom?
How ironic. America is the biggest razzle dazzle no substance show off there is. All those FONOPS and all that Chinese building in the meantime.
We've not even begun to fight. We're just building the army, sharpening our swords and you already feel it a siege??
LOLOL Says the world's biggest drunk that just crawled out of bar short $2 trillion with blood still coming out of his rear end.
Don't be so quick to call game set match; just because America's prime was in the past and China's is coming up doesn't mean the world stops turning. China's just starting to rise and it looks to the future as it strengthens itself by the day; it would be a mistake to comfort yourself by calling it a drunk just because you and all your friends/allies are sick and drunk.