WT Forums

<b>China Gearing For Taiwan Attack</b>
Associated Press
July 31, 2003

<i>WASHINGTON - China is boosting its missile stocks and military budget to prepare for what could be a quick and brutal showdown with Taiwan, and to prevent U.S. forces from getting in the way, the Pentagon said Wednesday.




Defense officials said China was emphasizing a "surprise, deception and shock" doctrine in its campaign against Taiwan, which Beijing considers a renegade province.

"Preparing for a potential conflict in the Taiwan Strait is the primary driver for China's military modernization," the Pentagon said in its annual evaluation of China's military.

While focusing on Taiwan, China is developing weapons systems that would impede U.S. intervention on behalf of the island in any future conflict, the report found.

"Beijing apparently believes that the United States poses a significant long-term challenge. China's leaders have asserted that the United States seeks to maintain a dominant geostrategic position by containing the growth of Chinese power, ultimately 'dividing' and 'Westernizing' China," the report said.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry in Beijing had no immediate comment on the report.

China has about 450 short-range ballistic missiles but is expected to increase its inventory by more than 75 missiles each year, defense officials reported. Last year, the Pentagon estimated that China's military had acquired 350 ballistic missiles and was adding at a rate of 50 a year.

The annual report is required by Congress to help keep lawmakers apprised of Beijing's military strategy.

According to this year's report, China has amassed missiles more sophisticated and accurate than before, with its army developing longer-range models of the CSS-6 missile capable of reaching as far as Okinawa, Japan, where U.S. Marines are based.

China also is spending far more on its defense budget than it has acknowledged.

U.S. officials estimate the military budget that Beijing announced as $20 billion early last year actually falls between $45 billion and $65 billion, and the report noted a potential for annual spending to increase three or four times by 2020.

Taiwan split from the mainland in 1949 after Nationalist Chinese leaders fled there following the communist victory in China. Beijing has expressed a desire for a peaceful resolution of the reunification dispute but also has threatened to retake the island by force if necessary. U.S. policy is to help Taiwan maintain a defense capability, but Washington does not favor Taiwanese independence.

Derek Mitchell, a former Pentagon official and now a Southeast Asia expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, said there was nothing surprising about this year's report.

"The overall concern registered about an increasing threat to Taiwan and of the increasing tension of the Chinese to realistic scenarios that include the United States are simply more of the same of what we have been concerned about for several years, including in the Clinton administration when these reports first started," he said.

The Pentagon report also highlights China's acquisition of Russian-made submarines that could be used to cut off sea access to Taiwan and threaten American forces that might respond. China bought $2 billion worth of weapons from Russia, at least double its annual procurement from Moscow over the previous decade, according to the report.

"China's force modernization program is heavily reliant upon assistance from Russia and other states of the former Soviet Union," the report said. "China hopes to fill short-term gaps in capabilities by significantly expanding its procurement of Russian weapon systems and technical assistance over the next several years."

The report also found that Beijing may have acquired high-energy laser equipment that could be used to develop anti-satellite weapons, or devices to jam satellite-guided munitions. </i>


Maybe we shouldn't disable those Peacekeeper's right now.



Edited by - Tritonal on Jul 31 2003 10:05 PM

We've analyzed this to death over on the WakiPaki boards, and have come to the conclusion that a military attempt to retake Taiwan would be as close to militarily impossible as an operation can be from the PRC standpoint.

PRC is lacking in most every way when it comes to taking the little island that could.

"Trample the wounded, hurdle the dead."

Well I wont claim to be the expert, (tried that once and failed miserably) but I agree with PRK. I dont think anyone has any doubt that sooner or later it is going to come to blows, however short of tossing s few nukes I dont believe the PRC has the air or seapower capable of overtaking the island. I think that we often look to far into it though. America hsa always disagreed with all out independence from China of Taiwan or has at least never publicly endorsed it. Having said that people always say 'with Americas weapons Taiwan could do this and that', but at what point would America actually step in and side with Taiwan in an all out fight? Especially when you take into account that Washington, despite its weapons sales to Taiwan, has never supported their full independence. America doesnt seem to consider China as powerfull militarilly as does Chinas neighboring countries, or at least we dont pay them as much defference as do neighboring countries. So if they do and we dont, could we say that America would most likely have to go it alone if we supported Taiwan in a war ? If so where are we going to stage from? Best bet as far as I can see is from CBG's. IMHO I think it would take an awfull lot to pull America into a full exchange with China over Taiwan.

Dear God please dont let the other members tear me up again on another post...........Amen.

By this time tomorrow I shall have gained either a pearage or Westminster Abbey........Nelson

_________________
YGBSM !

I FEEL THAT ITS REALLY NOT WORTH GOING HEAD TO HEAD WITH THE PRC FOR TAIWAN,
IF WE STILL HAD THE MILITARY OF THE 80'S AND THE PI AND OTHER BASES WE COULD CALL THEIR BLUFF,BUT WE DONT HAVE THE MEN OR MACHINES TO FIGHT NOW.
I'D BE MORE WORRIED ABOUT PRK,HECK LET THEM KNOCK OFF KIMBO,AND RE-UNITE THE PENSULA

WE MIGHT HAVE BETTER EQUIPMENT BUT AT ABOUT 20 TO 1 ODDS,THEY COULD JUST OUT LAST US.SO LET THEM TAKE IT BACK,HELL WALMART DONT CARE!!!!!


PRESS TO TEST

_________________
\"Live Free Or Die\"

BACK IN 1960'S BARRY MacGWIRE SANG A SONG CALLED THE EVE OF DESTRUCTION BACK WHEN ONLY A FEW COUNTRIES HAD THE BOMB.THAT SONG SURE FIT THE MOOD OF THE NATION BACK THEN,SO MUCH SO THAT IT WAS BANNED FROM BEING PLAYED ON NUMEROUS RADIO STATIONS,AND IT STILL SAYS SOMETHING ABOUT OUR WORLD TODAY.

"GLAD TO HAVE BEEN THERE AND HAVE BEEN PROUD TO HAVE SERVERED"

Goose if we dont defend Taiwan, where will we get out memory chips and plastic doggie doo?

I really dont know what would happen if China started raining TBMs in on Taiwan en masse, the Patriot would eventually get overwhelmd or depleted. I wonder how many Pats they have in stock on the island, and IF that stock is vulnerable to whatever the PRC would throw at it?

"We sleep safely in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would harm us". George Orwell

Fighting For Justice With Brains Of Steel !
<img src="http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ac/atengun2X.GIF" border=0>

_________________
The only time you have too much fuel is when you're on fire.

Isn't there always an AEGIS ship tied alongside Taiwan for precisely that reason?

"Retreat, hell! We just got here!"-Captain Lloyd Williams, 2nd Marine Division, Belleau Wood, France, WWI

BR, pretty much, yep.

Taiwan will have four Kidd class DDG's pretty soon to free up our Aegis warships for other duties.

"Trample the wounded, hurdle the dead."

Twilight zone time people. Searching for something else, this came up. Figured I'd ask something.

Seeing how old this news is, and that nothing really came of it, how are things going there? Obviously China has other things on its mind, some more important than Taiwan. So what's happening with this now, and how does the news compare to the article above?

"Some pup"
Nickname by Fenderstrat72

_________________
Evil is evil, no matter how small.

Can we just nuke the little Yellow fuckers already...

..I got t-Off times at 7am

"The greatest pleasure is to vanquish your enemies, to chase them before you, to rob them of their wealth, to see their near and dear bathed in tears, to ride their horses and sleep on the white bellies of their wives and daughters."
-Genghis Khan

_________________
\"A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week. \"

George S. Patton

<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote><font size=1 face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>
Can we just nuke the little Yellow fuckers already...

..I got t-Off times at 7am
<hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote></font id=quote><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size=2 id=quote>Lmfao....leave it to BigThug to prioritize appropriatly

Non-compliant... Taser Taser Taser

Edited by - Stinger on Aug 16 2005 06:11 AM

_________________
\"One of you is gonna fall and die, and I'm not cleaning it up\"

Look at the bright side, this happens and a lot of manufacturing jobs get shipped back to this side of the pacific.<img src=newicons/Whatever_anim.gif border=0 align=middle> Gotta love the Chicoms. They've been a pain in our ass since we saved them from the axis,,,kind of like the French.

My motto: pacis per vires

Edited by - benRoethig on Aug 16 2005 11:52 AM

I'm having a flashback!<img src=newicons/tard.gif border=0 align=middle><img src=newicons/bounce.gif border=0 align=middle> I looked at the first dates and seen how old this was.

Goose

_________________
\"Live Free Or Die\"

<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote><font size=1 face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>
We've analyzed this to death over on the WakiPaki boards, and have come to the conclusion that a military attempt to retake Taiwan would be as close to militarily impossible as an operation can be from the PRC standpoint.

PRC is lacking in most every way when it comes to taking the little island that could.

"Trample the wounded, hurdle the dead."
<hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote></font id=quote><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size=2 id=quote>

Yeah give them 200-300 years and they'll be no closer to actually conquering/controlling Taiwan than a big bear of a country can subjegate it's tiny republic of a nieghbor.

<img src="http://moveamericaforward.org/Images/Emails/ILoveGitmo.jpg" border=0>

<b>Don't you dare launch a hearts & minds operation against Israel!</b>

_________________