Taiwan and the US have yet to build the "hellscape" needed to help Taiwanese forces hold out against a potential Chinese invasion, and they should approach the task with a "sense of urgency" given the "dangerous" geopolitical situation, the chair of a US congressional commission said today.
The US would continue to face shortages of munitions and other key capabilities even a couple of years after Aug. 1 next year, Randall Schriver, chair of the US Congress' US-China Economic and Security Review Commission, told a forum in Taipei.
He was referring to the date by which Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) has reportedly directed the People's Liberation Army (PLA) to be ready to take Taiwan by force.
Photo: CNA
Schriver cited the conflict involving the US and Iran, saying it had created an "aircraft carrier gap" after the USS Abraham Lincoln was relieved following an extended deployment in the Middle East.
Against that backdrop, if North Korea and Russia were to coordinate with China to escalate tensions, US forces would have to respond, further stretching their resources and making the current period "particularly dangerous," he said.
Modern warfare is a race, not over who possesses the most advanced artificial intelligence or counter-drone capabilities, but over who can scale those technologies the fastest and integrate them into operational concepts that account for the evolving nature of warfare, Schriver said.
He cited an analogy offered by US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo, who said in a 2024 interview that he wanted to "turn the Taiwan Strait into an unmanned hellscape" for the PLA in a Taiwan contingency to buy time for a US response.
"But remember, hellscape is very aspirational," Schriver said. "We haven't built it out."
"We need to think about not only building things, but the operational concepts, and doing so with some sense of urgency," he said.
Ongoing conflicts suggest a turning point in the longstanding debate over the relative advantages of defense and offense, Schriver said.
Referring to the Russia-Ukraine war, he said, "We're seeing Ukraine win by not losing."
"Frankly, we're seeing Iran do quite well without losing at least the regime and some of its key capabilities," he added.
To improve its drone capabilities, the Legislative Yuan has approved a special budget of NT$240 billion (US$7.37 billion), while the Executive Yuan has proposed an additional NT$145.7 billion in defense spending through a supplementary budget. Of the latter amount, NT$55.9 billion is earmarked for uncrewed systems, including drones.
Meanwhile, the fiscal 2026 US National Defense Authorization Act directs the US Department of Defense to seek to establish a joint program with Taiwan to develop and field uncrewed systems and counter-uncrewed systems capabilities, including through codevelopment and coproduction, for both sides' armed forces.
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