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. 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.
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