In April, I asserted that the lessons learned from Russia’s war in Ukraine might influence China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to “accelerate the timetable for a smaller scale conflict” in the Taiwan Strait, short of a full-scale amphibious invasion (China Brief, April 8). On August 4, the PLA began a series of joint live-fire exercises in six exclusion zones surrounding Taiwan, including some that imposed on Taiwan’s territorial seas (81.cn, August 6). These exercises signal Beijing’s extreme pique that U.S. Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi led a Congressional delegation to meet with the leadership of Taiwan on August 2 and 3 (People’s Daily, August 3). Longtime students of PLA doctrine and military thought will recognize that these exercises have been in the works for the better part of two decades. In The Science of Joint Training, military deterrence is described as an essential objective of joint live-fire exercises:The essence of military de
An invasion of Taiwan could be costly for China despite a military imbalance, given the island's geographic features and decades of defensive preparations.
The movie "Top Gun: Maverick" was accused three years ago of kowtowing to China after a preview clip showed the Taiwanese flag missing from Tom Cruise's jacket, but now the flag is back.
The movie "Top Gun: Maverick" was accused three years ago of kowtowing to China after a preview clip showed the Taiwanese flag missing from Tom Cruise's jacket, but now the flag is back.