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WASHINGTON: The United States’ national security adviser warned China on Wednesday (October 7) against any attempts to retake Taiwan by force, saying that amphibious landings were notoriously difficult and there was a lot of ambiguity about how the United States would respond.
Robert O’Brien said at an event at the University of Nevada in Las Vegas that China was involved in a massive naval build-up that probably hadn’t been seen since Germany’s attempt to compete with the British Royal Navy before World War I.
“Part of that is to give them the ability to push us out of the Western Pacific and allow them to participate in an amphibious landing in Taiwan,” he said.
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“The problem with that is that amphibious landings are notoriously difficult,” O’Brien added, noting the 160-kilometer distance between China and Taiwan and the shortage of landing beaches on the island.
“It is not an easy task, and there is also a lot of ambiguity about what the United States would do in response to a Chinese attack on Taiwan,” he added, when asked what the United States’ options would be if China moved to try to absorb to Taiwan. .
O’Brien was referring to a long-standing US policy of “strategic ambiguity” on the question of whether it would intervene to protect Taiwan, which China considers its province and has promised to rejoin the mainland, by force if necessary.
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The United States is required by law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself, but has not made clear whether it would intervene militarily in the event of a Chinese attack, something that would likely lead to a much broader conflict with Beijing.
O’Brien’s comments come at a time when China has significantly stepped up military activity near Taiwan and when US-China relations have plummeted to the lowest point in decades in the run-up to the president’s re-election. Donald Trump on November 3.
O’Brien repeated the US calls for Taiwan to spend more on its own defense and carry out military reforms to make clear to China the risks of attempting an invasion.
“You can’t just spend 1 percent of their GDP, which the Taiwanese have been doing, 1.2 percent, on defense, and hope to dissuade a China that has been involved in the most massive military buildup in 70 years, “he said. He said.
Taiwan needed to “become a porcupine” militarily, he said, adding: “Lions generally don’t like to eat porcupines.”
On Tuesday, the top US defense official for East Asia called Taiwan’s plan to increase defense spending by $ 1.4 billion next year insufficient.
He said he needed to invest in capabilities that include more coastal defense cruise missiles, naval mines, rapid attack craft, mobile artillery and advanced surveillance assets.
