Former US Defense secretary says China ‘could bring Taiwan to its knees’ without invading

[xizhimen]

Former US Defense secretary says China ‘could bring Taiwan to its knees’ without invading​

BY LEXI LONAS - 06/23/22 1:00 AM ET

Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates discussed China’s chokehold on Taiwan amid rising tensions between the two on the most recent episode of the “One Decision” podcast.

Gates talked to former MI6 chief Sir Richard Dearlove and international journalist Julia Macfarlane about major international concerns for the U.S., saying he does not believe China will invade Taiwan.

“I personally think the likelihood of a full-scale invasion is very low. The Chinese have never undertaken an amphibious operation. It would look something like D-Day and it would have to be huge, and it would require a lot of softening up,” Gates said.

Concerns of an invasion rose after Russia attacked Ukraine, with some afraid the action would embolden China to take its own measures against Taiwan.

Taiwan says it is an independent country, while Beijing insists the island is part of China. The U.S. has supported Taiwan with weapons and training but does not formally recognize the island as independent from China.

However, Gates says there is more to be concerned about than just an invasion.

Chinese President Xi Jinping “can bring enormous pressure on Taiwan without ever firing a shot through cyber and through economic measures. He could bring Taiwan to its knees and create huge incentives for Taiwan to have a very different attitude toward China.”

The podcast discussed multiple international affairs, including the invasion of Ukraine.

“Just to illustrate expectations, we now know that the Russians who actually came down from the north and were headed for Kyiv had five days’ logistic support and actually had packed their ceremonial uniforms for the victory parade in Kyiv. That’s how confident they were,” Gates said.

He continued to say Russian forces were so confident in the support they would receive that they paid off local governments and trusted them to follow Russian orders, but that was not the locals’ plan.

“Someone told me that the Russians had paid off a lot of the local governments, but that the people that they had paid off, who they expected, as it were, to side with them immediately, were under the control of the Ukrainian services and had been told to act as though they were accepting the payoff and that they would get the balance of the money later. In fact, the Russians were really suckered into thinking that a lot of the local administrations north of Kyiv would welcome them,” he said.

Russia and Ukraine are going into their fourth month of war as Russian forces were unsuccessful at taking Kyiv, but are making up ground in the eastern Donbas region.

Former Defense secretary says China ‘could bring Taiwan to its knees’ without invading

Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates discussed China’s chokehold on Taiwan amid rising tensions between the two on the most recent episode of the “One Decision” podcast. Gates talked to former MI6…

thehill.com

 

[xizhimen]

Basically he is saying that Taiwan is a lost cause nevertheless

 

[Jagdflieger]

Finally an American politician with a sense making statement - it's actually what many people have been saying all-along in the past 10 years.

 

[xizhimen]

US Believes China Still Hoping to Take Taiwan Without Force​

June 30, 2022 1:01 AM

• Jeff Seldin

Fears that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine would spur China to take a similar approach to Taiwan do not appear to be playing out, at least not yet, according to the top U.S. intelligence official.

Chinese President Xi Jinping “quite clearly sees reunification of Taiwan as a goal,” Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told an audience in Washington late Wednesday, adding Xi “continues to prefer doing that peacefully as opposed to using military force.”

"There are not indications that he is currently intending to take Taiwan by military force even as he is planning for the potential,” Haines added.

Senior U.S. defense officials have repeatedly warned about China’s increasing aggressiveness in and around the South China Sea and Taiwan, and a military buildup larger than any seen since World War II.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1528777272223744001

Those concerns were echoed Wednesday by NATO, which accused Beijing of "bullying its neighbors and threatening Taiwan.”

“China is not our adversary, but we must be clear-eyed about the challenges it represents," NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said at the alliance’s summit in Madrid.

"We see a deepening strategic partnership between Moscow and Beijing, and China’s growing assertiveness and its coercive policies have consequences for the security of allies and our partners," he added.

The U.S. Commerce Department on Wednesday placed export restrictions on five Chinese companies for providing military-related support to Russia.

Asked about the restrictions, Haines echoed the concerns.

"They've tried very hard to quite publicly not take a critical stance of Russia,” she said. "Yet at the same time what we do see is that they are helping the Russians in a variety of ways behind the scenes."

Other top U.S. officials have previously said there has been no evidence of direct Chinese government support for Russia’s military efforts in Ukraine.

https://www.voanews.com/a/us-believes-china-still-hoping-to-take-taiwan-without-force-/6639239.html

 

[Jackdaws]

Republic of China should peacefully unify with PRC and PRC should adopt Republic of China's system of governance.

 

[Jagdflieger]

Republic of China should peacefully unify with PRC and PRC should adopt Republic of China's system of governance.

They should definitely reunite - and I am sure they will, but the ROC system of governance wouldn't be of any benefit to 1,4 billion Mainland Chinese. No one there want's to go back to the disastrous corruption practices and economic/social inequality of the KMT or former and present ROC system.

 

[Jackdaws]

They should definitely reunite - and I am sure they will, but the ROC system of governance wouldn't be of any benefit to 1,4 billion Mainland Chinese. No one there want's to go back to the disastrous corruption practices and economic/social inequality of the KMT or former and present ROC system.

Then they will keep voting the Communist Party in, no?

 

[Mehmed Ali]

As Bruce Lee would say " Be like water" and " Fighting without Fighting "

 

[Jagdflieger]

Then they will keep voting the Communist Party in, no?

Not sure what you mean.

Essentially those two only need to agree that the province of Taiwan will be governed in regards to national interests, such as defense and foreign affairs by Beijing - just as any other Chinese province. As for Taiwan let them keep their parties and who ever has the majority support can govern the province in the interest of it's population via it's governor and provincial parliament.

If one day the CCP should prove to be the majority party - okay things get easier for Beijing.

The question is wether the present Taiwan government is willing to forward such a proposal in a positive way to the population of Taiwan and what would be their decision.