Inside Taiwan’s Strategy to Counter a Chinese Invasion | WSJ

The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal
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Published 2023-08-15
For decades, Taiwan has looked to its east coast as a safe haven to survive a Chinese invasion until allies, particularly the U.S., can arrive to assist. In the east, Taiwan’s rugged mountain terrain also helps create a natural shield in the event of an attack. But China’s PLA activity on the island’s east has thrown that strategy into question.

WSJ takes a look at how serious China’s threats to Taiwan’s east coast are and explores whether the island needs to change its defense strategy.

0:00 Taiwan’s current strategy
1:38 The problem
4:15 Taiwan’s reliance on allies

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All Comments (21)
  • @AK-ky3ou
    Everyone in these comments is a retired 5 star general. How lucky of Taiwan to have all these experienced combat planners.
  • @asmith841
    Omg how I missed reading comments from the world's finest military advisors.
  • @Silverscream1965
    It’s crazy that in his age he’s that dialed into modern strategy… that guy has been around 3 times as long as me, but only has so much knowledge it’s incredible.
  • @abCd-lx8df
    If there is one thing I learn about war , it's that war is extremely unpredictable
  • @3066961
    informative! great production 👏👏
  • @alst4817
    The problems of a full scale invasion of Taiwan is well known, but a maritime blockade of Taiwanese ports is somewhat more complicated. It will most likely not have a full military response by the US, but equally the US would not be able to supply Taiwan either. How long could Taiwan survive such a siege?
  • @FRISHR
    The island of Taiwan's secret weapon strategy is actually the rumbling of over 600,000 Colossal Titans.
  • @Mikeandlucy1
    The war in Ukraine has demonstrated that unmanned aerial weapons, MANPADS and drones will play a far more significant part in any future conflicts. Taiwan should be building up these resources
  • @Dog.soldier1950
    It doesn’t take much to interrupt the ship to shore movement. Once that happens the elements on the far shore are in deep trouble.
  • @gregoryvangaya8971
    I really agree. Distributed network warfare demands many more distributable, expendable and networkable delivery systems that can easily pick up and move to different locations.
  • @petermcgrath5215
    Spot on... He's absolutely right. Many , small makes overwhelming very much more difficult.
  • @emmanuilushka
    I like how Taiwanese admiral left sea drones part out. Which can become the most painful point during the warfare. This can disrupt supply and blockade military forces at no cost. Ukrainian war showed the effectiveness of that weapon.
  • @caregazo2100
    You need anti ship wall and air defense and drone defense. Long range anti ship and artillery .
  • @d36williams
    interesting how his strategy speaks to the individual warrior on the battlefield in the 21st century. Many small units with some real punch doing major work.
  • @mitss
    A good video to recommend after I just booked a flight to Taipei 😅
  • @amyiyen
    I hope Taiwan never gets invaded. The free world stands with you.
  • @datianlongan5567
    Being an island was a blessing in 1949 but not in 2023 since the island’s survival depends on US transports to sustain the resistance. In all war game scenarios US & allies were not able to keep Taiwanese sea lanes open without directly attacking assets on the mainland and risk starting WW3. Unlike Ukraine, supplying Taiwan would be nearly impossible once the war breaks out.
  • @hawssie1
    Showing ones strength to an adversary and having it well known is the key to any deterrence. Many wars including much of WW2 would never have happened if the attacking side really knew what they were up against.