Taiwan and the US have established a powerful army collaboration through the years. A spread of army gear and weapons — from the air power’s F-5E jets within the Nineteen Seventies and the Army Aviation and Special Forces Command’s UH-1 Huey helicopters, to the navy’s Cheng Kung-class frigates, and navy and air power missiles — have been domestically made on license with the help of the US army.
The strong partnership between Taiwan and the US not solely bolsters Taiwan’s benefit in army expertise, but additionally brings large advantages to the army’s autonomy.
As tensions proceed to escalate between Taiwan and China, particularly after Chinese language President Xi Jinping (習近平) through the twentieth Nationwide Congress of the Chinese language Communist Get together mentioned he would step up army strain on Taiwan, Taiwan’s army business has come beneath the highlight.
It’s price analyzing Taiwan’s protection vulnerabilities, and the way cooperation with the US may also help cowl and treatment them ought to the Chinese language Individuals’s Liberation Army (PLA) assault.
First, air protection can be the primary line crossed in any cross-strait warfare. Utilizing intelligence gathered from routine reconnaissance and detection to drive away the PLA, the air power would want to realize the higher hand within the skies if hostilities escape.
The army and its associated items ought to search additional collaboration with the US on analysis and growth for the following technology of fighter jets, together with stealth and supercruise capabilities.
On this means, the air power would possess mandatory applied sciences earlier than acquiring fifth-generation fighters and catalyze the event of a brand new technology of fighter jets.
Second, as there have been repeated sightings of Chinese language civilian and army drones flying close to Kinmen County and the neighboring entrance line, with the probability that the drone intrusions might push farther into Taiwan correct, the army ought to search recommendation and state-of-the-art drone applied sciences from the US.
Taiwan ought to find out how drones will be designed to hold extra weapons, or enhance the accuracy of detection techniques.
Third, the military is the final line of protection. Though the army has bought M1A2 Abrams tanks from the US, the variety of tanks will not be sufficient to be totally distributed to armor items.
If the army might acquire the expertise and experience to make anti-tank missiles sooner or later, it might strengthen the military’s anti-tank and anti-landing capabilities and compensate for a shortfall in new-generation tanks.
As Taiwan and the US share a historical past of army collaboration, each nations ought to search to type stronger ties and design a well-conceived protection plan if Taiwan needs to discourage any PLA intrusions amid an growing risk of battle within the Taiwan Strait.
Ray Track is a doctoral pupil in Tamkang College’s Institute of Worldwide Affairs and Strategic Research.
Translated by Rita Wang
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