Can China Invade Taiwan?

Originally posted by sweatmonicaIdo

Stop going off-topic. Do we have to say please?

He was defending himself...
BTW what I meant was...if the US put a base there then wouldnt that mean if china attacked the US would have total legitimacy to retaliate and also help provide protection for taiwan...
Hell go further by building both a chinese and a US base there....

Not just a base. What if say a Aegis crusier is in Port in Taipai and got hit during an invasion. That is an act of war.

I think the US should worry more about itself than some civil war in another country, especially one they know little about. Don't forget, Osama bin Laden is still alive and most likely he's already planning his next move! ... ... ... Don't forget him like Bush did eh

A US base in Taiwan would be very provoking to China, since they have stated that they will attack if a military force of other countries move into Taiwan. But, who knows...maybe they are bluffing.

But I think from a military point of view, if US is going to involve, it is not necessary for US to station any forces in Taiwan because US has a longer force projection capability and there are other small islands behind Taiwan in which US can station their forces. Plus, putting US forces in Taiwan will put US forces at risk because then they are in direct line of fire from China during the first wave of attack if a war breaks out. It is better to put the force where you can strike the enemy harder than they can strike you. Taiwanese have no choice but be there...unless someone invent a way to move the whole island, haha.

So it seems in the present situation, there is not much incentive for US to do that.

[edit on 4-4-2005 by twchang]

If I was Taiwan's leader and really wanted independence I sure as hell want to do it as soon as possible before China's navy gets bigger and their airforce and other things get more advanced.

I used to hate WestPoint23 with a passion, since he would rub it in everyone's face that he was this or that, or going to do this or that.

Anyways, I still stand by my own opinion, china can easily invade Taiwan, if they want to, let them, it won't affect us directly, and it's not such a bad thing. If the people want to be free so badly, move to another Island and make a nation there, go far away from you enemy, don't stay next door.

Shattered OUT...

Originally posted by ShatteredSkies
If the people want to be free so badly, move to another Island and make a nation there, go far away from you enemy, don't stay next door.

That might not be a bad idea. If someone can provide the Taiwanese with another island with about the same size, similar climate and economic infastructure...who knows, some of us might just move there, and then we probably don't need to pay that much for the national defense...but I wonder if it would be difficult for some to leave their homeland....


[edit on 4-4-2005 by twchang]

I don't think there are any more uninhabited islands left to start new countries. I dunno, are there? The only one I know of is Sable Island which is part of Canada. Uninhabited. It's supposed to be a bird sancturary.

Oh there's a lot of uninhabited islands in the arctic though I don't think anyone would be willing to live there. OT but is is true that the arctic islands of Northern Canada can be purchased? Which is why they're called territories rather than provinces? Antarctica is uninhabited too except for some crazy scientists, and also not claimed by any country. Some countries did reserve the right to claim Antarctica though.

Originally posted by The Vagabond
I agree that putting ground troops in Taiwan would be irrational, but it might make perfect sense to put small naval vessels or aircraft there. Imagine the pressure on China if we moved F-117s and F/A-22s right onto their doorstep their, then opened a naval base there so that we could keep torps and missiles on hand to rearm naval forces in the event that they had to defend Taiwan?
That would be a big signal to China not only that they weren't getting Taiwan but that we might have hostile plans. It would take A LOT to provoke that, but it would be a very effective way to blackmail China if we had to. I think that if we threatened to do that, that China would crack down on North Korea to secure our formal promise not to do it.

The U.S would never put a base in Taiwan or sell the best equipment to Taiwan. There is always the fear that China will get it's hands on those equipment in Taiwan.

LMAO, Instead of cracking down on North Korea, China might give Chavez some Dongfengs.

A irrational spirral often ensures from even the best laid traps.

The U.S. already has many bases in the area and I just don’t see what capability this could offer other than irritating china. And why should we make out troops or systems venerable to a surprise attack, we can still maintain our presence in the area without a bases. We can do this by selling Taiwan some attack and defensive systems and by marinating our forces in the region, not to mention training or giving advice to the Taiwanese on how to prepare for such an attack.

Originally posted by WestPoint23
and by marinating our forces in the region

Um... boy I hope that isn't intended to mean what it says. I'm sure it would make our troops much tastier- but to what purpose?

China has recently tested a newly-developed rocket gun, which boasts the longest range in the world among weapons in its category, according to a report by China's Wen Hui Bao daily.

The rocket gun, named WS-1B, is capable of striking any part of Taiwan if deployed in Fujian Province, the report says.

It is said to have a maximum range of 360km, an upgrade over the 180km range of a previous version of the rocket gun series.

With this range, the gun's rockets can cross the Taiwan Strait within minutes if fired from Fujian. The Strait, which separates Taiwan from China, has an average width of 200km, being 130km wide at its narrowest point and 250km wide at its widest point.

www.abovetopsecret.com...

Originally posted by The Vagabond
Um... boy I hope that isn't intended to mean what it says. I'm sure it would make our troops much tastier- but to what purpose?

nothing better than a finely grilled marine on the barbie...

LMAO that is the true meaning of seasoned troops.

Originally posted by WestPoint23
LMAO that is the true meaning of seasoned troops.

ROFL WestPoint. So dare I ask what "Crack Troops" are?

As for the super-gun, those things have their advantages, but they aren't all that super. They have a few advantages- the ammo is cheaper tha ballistic missiles, so as long as you plan to use it a lot it is very economical. I've even heard the suggestion that such things could be used to launch small payloads into space. (A Canadian artillery expert who did some modifications for Saddam's stuff tried to get Iraq to use those for its space program- if some such thing were successful it would present the capability to launch SLVs and deliver nukes without ICBMs- sort of scary. But they're also pretty vulnerable. This isn't WWII where you could bury it in a hill and nobody could hit it. We have precision weapons would be almost impossible to protect this weapon from if it were to be in a position where it could aim at Taiwan.
I don't know what the weapon's rate of fire is, but I hope it's REALLY big, because that thing has a maximum of 5 hours to live once it opens fire on Taiwan.

If the enemy can't penetrate your air defenses and doesn't have any form of guided munitions to use on your supergun- those things are great, but that's the extent of it. Maybe Israel should build one to fire at Iran.

ROFL WestPoint. So dare I ask what "Crack Troops" are?

Can’t say the recipe for them is top secret , not to mention dangerous

Can’t say the recipe for them is top secret , not to mention dangerous

Following on this idea....where do the best tasting soldiers come from? we know the SAS are the best (theres a flame bait for you!) but which grill the best?

Hey people cannabalism is not cool!

Following on this idea....where do the best tasting soldiers come from? we know the SAS are the best (theres a flame bait for you!) but which grill the best?

Oooo... stop doing this to me, so tempting to respond the way I usually do but I have to take deep breaths and count to 10. Anyway I heard the SEAL’s can really turn up the heat and bring the fire.