US Air Force leaders on Thursday voiced concerns about the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) missile capabilities and its development of a “kill web,” and said that the US Department of Defense’s budget request for next year prioritizes bolstering defenses in the Indo-Pacific region due to the increasing threat posed by China.
US experts said that a full-scale Chinese invasion of Taiwan is risky and unlikely, with Beijing more likely to pursue coercive tactics such as political warfare or blockades to achieve its goals.
Senior air force and US Space Force leaders, including US Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink and US Space Force chief of space operations General Chance Saltzman, yesterday attended a US Senate subcommittee hearing to discuss next year’s defense budget.
Photo: AP
Meink and Saltzman said the PLA is advancing its ballistic capabilities.
China has more than 900 short-range missiles capable of reaching Taiwan and 400 land-based missiles that can reach the first island chain, they said.
It also has 1,300 medium-range ballistic missiles that can strike the second island chain, 500 intermediate-range ballistic missiles capable of hitting parts of Alaska and Australia, and more than 400 intercontinental ballistic missiles that could deliver nuclear weapons globally, they said.
Photo: AP
Saltzman said he is most concerned about China’s “kill web,” which enables the PLA to track US joint forces and operations from long distances.
China had already launched more than 470 intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance satellites, “which are feeding information into a powerful sensor-to-shooter kill web,” Saltzman said in March last year.
This “kill web,” which links sensors directly to strike units, accelerates attack speed through data sharing and automation, enabling strikes to be completed within seconds, he said.
Meanwhile, the Stimson Center held a seminar titled “The Realities of an Invasion of Taiwan,” where senior fellow Dan Grazier, fellow James Siebens and research associate MacKenna Rawlins analyzed the strategic, political, economic and military factors that China might consider in planning an invasion of Taiwan.
Launching an amphibious assault on the nation would be fraught with risks, including nuclear escalation, political instability and economic repercussions, with a low probability of success, they said.
The risks China would face in invading Taiwan far outweigh any potential gains, Grazier added.
China has many other military options at its disposal that could be more advantageous and easier to execute, such as a blockade, Siebens said, adding that China is working toward unification through political warfare and coercion.
The US must first help Taiwan respond to the actions Beijing is already undertaking, rather than focusing too heavily on deterring a large-scale invasion, he said.
Should China decide to invade, there would be early indicators, including the weakening of Taiwan’s defenses, seizure of its outlying islands and increased coercive measures, he added.
The US and other like-minded nations should emphasize how important their economic relationships with Taiwan are to their own national interests, Siebens said.
China must understand that any attempt to impose a maritime blockade on Taiwan would not only constitute an act of aggression against Taiwan, but also against all of its partners, he said.
GET TO SAFETY: Authorities were scrambling to evacuate nearly 700 people in Hualien County to prepare for overflow from a natural dam formed by a previous typhoon Typhoon Podul yesterday intensified and accelerated as it neared Taiwan, with the impact expected to be felt overnight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, while the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration announced that schools and government offices in most areas of southern and eastern Taiwan would be closed today. The affected regions are Tainan, Kaohsiung and Chiayi City, and Yunlin, Chiayi, Pingtung, Hualien and Taitung counties, as well as the outlying Penghu County. As of 10pm last night, the storm was about 370km east-southeast of Taitung County, moving west-northwest at 27kph, CWA data showed. With a radius of 120km, Podul is carrying maximum sustained
Tropical Storm Podul strengthened into a typhoon at 8pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with a sea warning to be issued late last night or early this morning. As of 8pm, the typhoon was 1,020km east of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving west at 23kph. The storm carried maximum sustained winds of 119kph and gusts reaching 155kph, the CWA said. Based on the tropical storm’s trajectory, a land warning could be issued any time from midday today, it added. CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said Podul is a fast-moving storm that is forecast to bring its heaviest rainfall and strongest
TRAJECTORY: The severe tropical storm is predicted to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday and Thursday, and would influence the nation to varying degrees, a forecaster said The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it would likely issue a sea warning for Tropical Storm Podul tomorrow morning and a land warning that evening at the earliest. CWA forecaster Lin Ting-yi (林定宜) said the severe tropical storm is predicted to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday and Thursday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving west at 21kph and packing sustained winds of 108kph and gusts of up to 136.8kph, the CWA said. Lin said that the tropical storm was about 1,710km east of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, with two possible trajectories over the next one
TALKS CONTINUE: Although an agreement has not been reached with Washington, lowering the tariff from 32 percent to 20 percent is still progress, the vice premier said Taiwan would strive for a better US tariff rate in negotiations, with the goal being not just lowering the current 20-percent tariff rate, but also securing an exemption from tariff stacking, Vice Premier Cheng Li-chiun (鄭麗君) said yesterday. Cheng made the remarks at a news conference at the Executive Yuan explaining the new US tariffs and the government’s plans for supporting affected industries. US President Donald Trump on July 31 announced a new tariff rate of 20 percent on Taiwan’s exports to the US starting on Thursday last week, and the Office of Trade Negotiations on Friday confirmed that it
RSS