During 2020s, #Xi is likely to make catastrophic move against #Taiwan—IF he calculates probability of success sufficiently high.
To protect US interests, regional security & rules-based international order, US/Allies must IMMEDIATELY mobilize resources to #deter#PRC aggression.
>>> In athletic terms, the US & its Allies must now marshal their efforts & focus to "#peak" near-term capabilities & maximize their strategic impact—
—by innovatively employing assets that currently exist or can be operationally assembled & scaled within the next several years.
Drawing on #Ukraine's experience, US & #Taiwan must max invest immed.—particularly targeting 8 key areas—to make #TW tougher to EVER invade, even harder to subdue & harder still to occupy + govern:
"#China’s #navy is already the world’s largest by #s of vessels. The @USNavy has 297 battle-force ships..according to @CRS4Congress, while China has 355 & is projected to have 460 by 2030, according to last year’s @DeptofDefense report."
But, said Andrew Erickson, research director of the @ChinaMaritime Studies Institute @NavalWarCollege, “as impressive as those numbers are, without a significant network of robust overseas facilities, their ability to use them falls off rapidly w distance from China.” #Ream#Base
"The #PRC..pursues a sphere of influence in the Indo-#Pacific & seeks to become the world’s most influential power. The PRC’s coercion & aggression spans the globe, but..is most acute in..Indo-Pacific."
"The United States is the leading international provider
of education to students from the Indo-#Pacific—nearly 68% of international students studying in the United States hail from the region..."
“The maritime #history of #China has long been a neglected field..China Goes to Sea bring[s] that knowledge-gap to an end..will be an indispensable companion to those readers seeking to understand where China’s navy may be heading.”
As European #naval powers & even the @USNavy struggle with ship numbers, #China has gone to #sea.
Represents the reversal of a great historical trend that began 600 years ago, when China withdrew from the seas & European naval expansion spread Western influence around the globe.
#PRC "gov't, which has built an extensive digital infrastructure & security apparatus to ctrl dissent on its own platforms, is going to even greater lengths to extend its internet dragnet to unmask & silence those who criticize"
These new investigations, targeting sites blocked inside #China, are relying on sophisticated technological methods to expand the reach of #Chinese authorities & the list of targets"