![]() The whole western side of the island is crisscrossed with rivers and canals. Soldiers would have to fight their way through dense, urban sprawls and blocks of apartments that can easily be turned into heavily defended strongpoints. Taipei, the capital, is in the north, Taichung is in the centre and Kaohsiung to the south are spread out, forming a natural defensive barrier that would slow any advance by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to a crawl. To the west of the mountain ridge lie fertile plains and large sprawling cities. ![]() The island is made up of a heavily-forested mountain ridge that runs down the length of the roughly oval-shaped island, which from north to south is 395km (245 miles). In the opening phrase, Taiwanese airfields and airports would need to be seized, but Taiwan has been planning for such an attack Taiwan’s barriers: Cities and islands Taiwan’s air defences and air force would need to be suppressed and ideally destroyed in the opening phase of the invasion. They would therefore need to be taken quickly and remain reasonably intact.Īt the same time, airports and airfields would need to be seized and held from counterattack until Chinese military transport planes could land, carrying elite troops and armoured vehicles. These assaults would have to be timed to hit the island’s beaches and ports simultaneously in order to overwhelm the defending forces.īy far the quickest way for this giant fleet of ships to offload all the troops, weapons, vehicles and supplies needed for a successful invasion would be using the facilities of captured ports. ![]() This heavily-laden fleet would only be able to move slowly and would be extremely vulnerable to long-range missile and air attacks and attacks by submarines.ĭespite the best efforts of the Chinese navy and air force, the invasion fleet, in the open for hours, would be massively exposed before it even got into a position where it could begin its attack on the Taiwanese shoreline. While airlifts and vast fleets of planes can move a few thousand troops and keep them supplied, the sheer number of soldiers and vast quantities of supplies – armoured vehicles, artillery, ammunition, food, medical supplies and fuel – needed for a successful invasion could only move by sea.Ī huge fleet would have to be assembled colossal stores of equipment would have to be packed into hundreds of ships. The Taiwan Strait is 128km (79.5 miles) at its narrowest point between mainland China and Taiwan and much wider if embarkation ports where an invasion force would gather are to be considered. Under Xi Jinping, observers worry that a long-feared Chinese invasion of Taiwan might be increasingly likely An invasion’s opening phaseįirst, the distance an invasion fleet would need to travel before it even gets to the island is daunting. In terms of relative size and power, it might be considered a foregone conclusion but the multiple challenges an invading force would face would be substantial. The aggressive patrolling and overflights of Taiwanese airspace by aircraft from the Chinese air force have added a sense of urgency that this could very well happen in the near future.īut how difficult would it be for China to successfully invade Taiwan? ![]() This, combined with explicit rhetoric from China’s president that “Taiwanese independence separatism” was “the most serious hidden danger to national rejuvenation” has refocused global attention on the possibility of China using force to take the island. President Xi’s rise, with his focus on centralised control and a new, professionally-run, modern military, has set off alarm bells around the world. Taiwan has had no seat at the United Nations for 50 years. ![]() Threats of military action against the self-ruled island have escalated during times when some Taiwanese political parties have debated whether to declare independence. Taiwan, formerly the island of Formosa, was the last bastion that held out against Mao Zedong’s victorious Communist army after elements of the defeated nationalist Kuomintang military retreated to the eastern island in 1949. We've come a long way and there's a ton of quality to be found.The invasion of Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), has been considered by Chinese military planners for decades but only under President Xi Jinping have observers worried this might be increasingly likely. Absolutely massive video by UglySofaGaming on Dreams best creations of 2022. ![]()
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