Okinawa isn’t in the news nearly as much as it was some year’s back, when most reporting focused on noisy protest groups demanding United States’ military forces leave. The Japanese government sometimes even seemed to wish the Americans might go away and only return when needed. Times have changed. Nowadays the …
Okinawa Is Still Strategically Important Continue Reading >>
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that the Americans will be deploying as many as 200 troops to Taiwan to serve in training and advisory roles to Taiwan’s military. This is a good development. If properly deployed, a hundred or two hundred troops can have a positive, even outsized, effect. Among other …
US and Taiwan Militaries Doing More Together, but There’s a Catch Continue Reading >>
Yorktown Institute president Seth Cropsey was referenced in the Wall Street Journal’s January 29th editorial, Telling the Truth About Possible War Over Taiwan, concerning Gen. Michael Minihan’s belief that war will break out over Taiwan in 2025. “Former naval officer Seth Cropsey explained on these pages last week that America isn’t …
Taiwan’s ruling party has a new leader, and the change bodes ill for peace in the Indo-Pacific. Vice President Lai Ching-te, a staunch proponent of the island’s independence, took over chairmanship of the Democratic Progressive Party last week from President Tsai Ing-wen. She stepped down as party leader after the …
Yonaguni is a small island, part of the Ryukyus island chain, that is close to Taiwan. In our book Stopping a Taiwan Invasion we suggested putting HIMARS on Yonaguni. It seems the Biden administration, despite support from the Marines, is opposing HIMARS for Yonaguni. That has left the Marines out of the picture …
Speaking to Democratic Party donors in early October, President Joe Biden said, ‘I’m trying to figure out what is Putin’s off-ramp. Where does he find a way out? Where does he find himself in a position that he does not – not only lose face but lose significant power within …
Off-Ramps for China? Sorry, That Ship has Sailed Continue Reading >>
The United States, after months of war, is finally standing up a command specifically designed to assist Ukraine. This formalizes the ad hoc efforts President Joe Biden’s administration and America’s allies have conducted since the Russian invasion began. Through a stroke of luck, American recalcitrance and Washington’s typically glacial reaction time did not …
Brace for Impact: the Coming War over Taiwan Continue Reading >>
The U.S. Navy’s submarine fleet, America’s essential war-fighting instrument in the Indo-Pacific, is about three-fifths the size it should be, chiefly because of maintenance and production delays. This comes amid stepped-up threats to Taiwan by China. Contesting such an assault would require a submarine force at maximum strength. Congress and …
Delayed Repairs Shrink the U.S. Navy Submarine Fleet Continue Reading >>
The Fourth Taiwan Strait Crisis is in full swing. The PLA has continued its military exercises after Speaker Pelosi’s departure from Taiwan, the PRC has imposed targeted sanctions upon Taiwan. Beijing’s diplomatic service and propaganda outlets compete to emphasize the overwhelming response that Taiwan and the West will suffer if …
The Fourth Taiwan Strait Crisis will not vanish like the previous three. While the PLA has not demonstrated its military strategy to take Taiwan, it has eroded a key cross-strait norm: from now until the Politburo takes its next step, the PLA will threaten to bracket and blockade Taiwan. The United …
