I'm not a Navy guy, but I can swim if that helps. I think head to head in a swimming pool, the U.S. would still prevail. The problem is projecting power that far - think resupplying munitions, fuel, logistics, and rotating sailors. Remember that we don't have Subic Bay and Clark AFB any longer. Guam could be incapacitated and Japan ma…
I'm not a Navy guy, but I can swim if that helps. I think head to head in a swimming pool, the U.S. would still prevail. The problem is projecting power that far - think resupplying munitions, fuel, logistics, and rotating sailors. Remember that we don't have Subic Bay and Clark AFB any longer. Guam could be incapacitated and Japan may or may not be willing to be dragged into a war by being our only source of near supply, other than possibly Australia. And don't think the PRC won't have a significant 5th column in Taiwan. The scene on the ground there may not so much represent a defense as a chaotic civil war. Our fleet is declining and in disrepair as recent accidents show, though maybe CRT and equity training will tip the scales in our favor. China won't resort to nukes because they know time is on their side. Taiwan will have to defend itself the way Ukraine has if it wants to remain independent and free.
Nope very few Communist sympathizers in Taiwan. Up until the 1980s such people were shot dead. Maybe a couple thousand, including some visitors or illegal immigrants from the mainland. But not a significant population in an island of 23 million.
I'm not a Navy guy, but I can swim if that helps. I think head to head in a swimming pool, the U.S. would still prevail. The problem is projecting power that far - think resupplying munitions, fuel, logistics, and rotating sailors. Remember that we don't have Subic Bay and Clark AFB any longer. Guam could be incapacitated and Japan may or may not be willing to be dragged into a war by being our only source of near supply, other than possibly Australia. And don't think the PRC won't have a significant 5th column in Taiwan. The scene on the ground there may not so much represent a defense as a chaotic civil war. Our fleet is declining and in disrepair as recent accidents show, though maybe CRT and equity training will tip the scales in our favor. China won't resort to nukes because they know time is on their side. Taiwan will have to defend itself the way Ukraine has if it wants to remain independent and free.
Nope very few Communist sympathizers in Taiwan. Up until the 1980s such people were shot dead. Maybe a couple thousand, including some visitors or illegal immigrants from the mainland. But not a significant population in an island of 23 million.
I was thinking along the lines of sleeper agents. Well-trained agents can create a lot of havoc without large numbers.
probably true. I wonder how extensive Taiwan's internal security and intelligence services are these days.