U.S. and Japanese military personnel participating in a joint military exercise
Two U.S. defense experts have called for increased military cooperation between the United States, Japan and Taiwan in response to the growing mainland military threat to Taiwan by establishing a joint defense command to help bolster Taiwan’s defense capabilities and maintain U.S. preeminence in the Indo-Pacific region and stability in the Pacific.
Stephen Bryen, former senior staff director of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee and senior fellow for defense studies at the Council on Foreign Policy, reiterated in a Feb. 17 webinar at the Center for Security Policy, a U.S. think tank, the importance of a joint U.S. defense command with Japan and Taiwan. He argued that if the U.S. were to intervene, China would not be able to take over. He argued that once the U.S. becomes involved, the Chinese Communist authorities will reassess their military strategy in the Asia-Pacific region: “The biggest problem is that Taiwan is like a peanut compared to the mainland, and the two sides are very disparate. Taiwan’s own defenses are very weak, but that won’t last long. In addition, the military intimidation and threats that Taiwan faces from mainland China will affect Japan’s interests and its relationship with the mainland. The United States must establish a joint defense command with Japan and Taiwan to counter the growing threat from mainland China. Once military ties are established, the mainland will face three times or more the military defenses.”
Grant Newsham, a former U.S. diplomat and senior fellow at the Japan Strategic Research Forum, said Taiwan, a key link in the first island chain, is a must for soldiers. Once Taiwan returns to the mainland, the mainland will greatly enhance its military projection in the Indo-Pacific region. Therefore, strengthening military cooperation with Taiwan to help it defend itself against mainland invasion is crucial for Japan and the United States to deal with mainland military expansion and stabilize the regional situation. At the same Time, he believes that Australia is also aware of the threat from the mainland, judging from the growing tension between Australia and China over the past four years.
Newtham warned: “Multiple interests make the CCP think it is worthwhile to recover Taiwan, even if it is not an easy task, and even if it causes the US to intervene. The mainland is ready for it, both in terms of military power projection and influence projection.”
But there are many other experts familiar with East Asian defense affairs who take a different view, arguing that the mainland’s military power, despite its significant gains in recent decades, is not yet sufficient to recover Taiwan by force.
Brian said that the involvement of international military forces such as the United States and Japan in Taiwan would protect regional and global democracy: “Beyond the military and strategic, the mainland poses a threat to freedom and democracy in the Pacific. Taiwan is a huge victory for democracy, and freedom and democracy are also important to Japan and other Pacific nations. We have seen the precedent of Hong Kong, where democracy is not getting better and is even deteriorating. The creation of the Joint Defense Command will tell the Chinese Communists that it is not a good time to retake Taiwan by force and that they will lose the war.”
In addition, Bryan suggested that the U.S. would also need to make key improvements to weak air defense systems, air combat forces and out-of-area weapons to ensure the viability of Taiwan’s air bases and U.S. and Japanese air bases against Communist aggression.
Newseum is concerned that the disparity between the ROC government and the mainland in terms of hardware and weapons investment has led to an imbalance in military power in the Taiwan Strait. In addition, the ROC government is still lacking in the protection of military treatment and welfare, which will weaken the combat capability of Taiwan’s military. Japan also faces the same problem. Bryan believes that improving the partnership between the U.S. military and Taiwan’s active-duty service members will help build confidence in Taiwan’s military to defend themselves.
Over the past year, the mainland has stepped up its military power projection in the South China Sea, not only to forcefully intimidate Taiwan but also to bully its Southeast Asian neighbors, sparking discontent among many governments. According to Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense, the Communist Party of China’s air force operated frequently around Taiwan last year, disturbing more than 380 Taiwan military aircraft. Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen emphasized at a high-level meeting on national security on Feb. 9 that the CCP’s civilian attack and military intimidation of Taiwan will not help cross-strait relations in any way.
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