Decisions being taken in Washington on the US Navy’s budget could affect the likelihood or outcome of a conflict with China over Taiwan, a new study from the Congressional Research Service says.
“Some observers consider such a conflict to be very unlikely, in part because of significant US-Chinese economic linkages and the tremendous damage that such a conflict could cause on both sides,” specialist in naval affairs Ronald O’Rourke said in the study, titled China Naval Modernization: Implications for US Navy Capabilities.
O’Rourke’s study says that Beijing wants its military to be capable of acting as an anti-access and area-denial force — “a force that can deter US intervention in a conflict in China’s near-seas region over Taiwan.”
According to the study, China’s naval modernization has several aims, but “addressing the situation with Taiwan militarily, if need be,” is its first goal.
“Decisions that [the US] Congress and the executive branch make regarding US Navy programs for countering improved Chinese maritime capabilities could affect the likelihood or possible outcome of a potential US-Chinese military conflict in the Pacific over Taiwan,” the study read.
O’Rourke cites US Naval Institute reports saying that China is developing new unmanned underwater vehicles and has modernized its substantial inventory of mines.
He also quotes the US Department of Defense as saying that “China has developed torpedo and mine systems capable of area denial in a Taiwan [conflict] scenario.”
According to the department, “estimates of China’s naval mine inventory exceed 50,000 mines, with many capable systems developed in the past 10 years,” O’Rourke’s study says.
“Although aircraft carriers might have some value for China in Taiwan-related conflict scenarios, they are not considered critical for Chinese operations in such scenarios because Taiwan is within range of land-based Chinese aircraft,” it adds.
It says that larger amphibious ships such as the Type 071 and the Type 081 would be valuable in the conduct of amphibious landings in Taiwan, although other observers say Beijing is building them to defend its territorial claims in the East China and South China seas.
In his study, O’Rourke quotes the department as saying that the People’s Liberation Army Navy “currently lacks the massive amphibious lift capability that a large-scale invasion of Taiwan would require.”
It says Beijing does not appear to be building the conventional amphibious lift required to support such a campaign, adding that “China’s navy exhibits limitations or weaknesses in several areas, including antisubmarine warfare and mine countermeasures.”
“Countering China’s naval modernization might thus involve actions to exploit such limitations and weaknesses, such as developing and procuring Virginia class attack submarines, torpedoes, unmanned underwater vehicles and mines,” the report says.
The study suggests that Congress consider whether in the coming years, the US Navy will be large enough to counter improved Chinese anti-access forces.
It also raised questions about the political and security implications that China’s growing naval capabilities — combined with the budget-driven reductions in the size of the US Navy — may have on the Asia-Pacific region.
Japan has deployed long-range missiles in a southwestern region near China, the Japanese defense minister said yesterday, at a time when ties with Beijing are at their lowest in recent years. The missiles were installed in Kumamoto in the southern region of Kyushu, as Japan is attempting to shore up its military capacity as China steps up naval activity in the East China Sea. “Standoff defense capabilities enable us to counter the threat of enemy forces attempting to invade our country ... while ensuring the safety of our personnel,” Japanese Minister of Defense Shinjiro Koizumi said. “This is an extremely important initiative for
The nation’s fastest supercomputer, Nano 4 (晶創26), is scheduled to be launched in the third quarter, and would be used to train large language models in finance and national defense sectors, the National Center for High-Performance Computing (NCHC) said. The supercomputer, which would operate at about 86.05 petaflops, is being tested at a new cloud computing center in the Southern Taiwan Science Park in Tainan. The exterior of the server cabinet features chip circuitry patterns overlaid with a map of Taiwan, highlighting the nation’s central position in the semiconductor industry. The center also houses Taiwania 2, Taiwania 3, Forerunner 1 and
MORE POPULAR: Taiwan Pass sales increased by 59 percent during the first quarter compared with the same period last year, the Tourism Administration said The Tourism Administration yesterday said that it has streamlined the Taiwan Pass, with two versions available for purchase beginning today. The tourism agency has made the pass available to international tourists since 2024, allowing them to access the high-speed rail, Taiwan Railway Corp services, four MRT systems and four Taiwan Tourist Shuttles. Previously, five types of Taiwan Pass were available, but some tourists have said that the offerings were too complicated. The agency said only two types of Taiwan Pass would be available, starting from a three-day pass with the high-speed rail and a three-day pass with Taiwan Railway Corp. The former costs NT$2,800
FIRST TRIAL: Ko’s lawyers sought reduced bail and other concessions, as did other defendants, but the bail judge denied their requests, citing the severity of the sentences Former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) was yesterday sentenced to 17 years in prison and had his civil rights suspended for six years over corruption, embezzlement and other charges. Taipei prosecutors in December last year asked the Taipei District Court for a combined 28-year, six-month sentence for the four cases against Ko, who founded the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). The cases were linked to the Core Pacific City (京華城購物中心) redevelopment project and the mismanagement of political donations. Other defendants convicted on separate charges included Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei City Councilor Angela Ying (應曉薇), who was handed a 15-year, six-month sentence; Core Pacific
RSS