China accuses U.S. of turning Taiwan into powder keg with its latest arms sales

China doesn't need to worry about a powder keg on Taiwan if China doesn't start any fires!

There needs to be a missile for every man, woman, and child to fire to celebrate Taiwan's independence, should Beijing push for it hard enough.

If there's only 1 China and Taiwan buys US weapons, then it is like the US is selling weapons to China. Isn't that what China wants? /s

Cry me a river China

“How dare you running dog imperialist Yankee scum interfere with our efforts to impose our Hegemony upon others!”

”Bite me.”

Says the world's manufacturer of ak-47 and rugs.

The USA will trade Taiwan for Cuba ultimately. Taiwan is not worth it.

E ven though Taiwan was established in a deal between Chang Kai Shek and Mao to be democratic at the end of the war. Chang beat the Japanese and Mao beat the weaked democracy.

RPGs

Good old US and its neo-colonialist tactics..

China doesn't need to worry about a powder keg on Taiwan if China doesn't start any fires!

Who is it that has been starting fires in all the world since 1776?

There needs to be a missile for every man, woman, and child to fire to celebrate Taiwan's independence, should Beijing push for it hard enough.

Keep dreaming, G. I. T..

LOOOOOL !!!...

The U.S. maintains a “One China" policy under which it does not recognize Taiwan's formal independence and has no formal diplomatic relations with the island in deference to Beijing.

This seems to be a new addition to the usual fillers to articles.

Once TMSC builds plants in the US and Japan, Taiwan is doomed! The Yankee imperialists only care about Taiwan's chip industry!...

Remember when China used to say that it believed in a peaceful transition to reunification with Taiwan?

What happened to that?

It's a all BS now, especially when looking at the way China treated Hong Kong after that broken promise.

Once TMSC builds plants in the US and Japan, Taiwan is doomed! The Yankee imperialists only care about Taiwan's chip industry!...

That isn't true. You many not realize it but the US would indeed go to war to defend Taiwan. There is no question in Congress on this matter. In fact there is a bill being discussed that would basically pre-authorize a US President to use force to defend Taiwan in the event of attack.

Sorry Taiwan but holding off Chinese forces and waiting for outside help isn't realistically feasible if China decides to swoop in all at once.

What you are missing is that it would take time and be painfully obvious to satellite imagery to build up the forces necessary to invade Taiwan. China doesn't have the means in place to simply "swoop in all at once". The US and Taiwan's other allies would have some warning, several weeks at a minimum, to prepare their own forces.

If Taiwan wasn't worth Billions on the global market for it's microchip production, I wonder if China would be so keen on acquiring the independent country in the first place?

What ol' Jack Burton always saysToday 09:26 am JST

There needs to be a missile for every man, woman, and child to fire to celebrate Taiwan's independence, should Beijing push for it hard enough.

Celebrating independence by firing missiles .

One for every man, woman and child

That's just dumb.

Not if the goal is to kill aggressors.

Sorry Taiwan but holding off Chinese forces and waiting for outside help isn't realistically feasible if China decides to swoop in all at once.

Presumably China doesn't want to reduce Taiwan to a lifeless rock. I mean that will be the end effect, but I assume the stated goal is some kind of taking of people and resources.

ianToday 08:54 am JST

The U.S. maintains a “One China" policy under which it does not recognize Taiwan's formal independence and has no formal diplomatic relations with the island in deference to Beijing.

This seems to be a new addition to the usual fillers to articles.

Was a meaningless statement when it was first made and is even more meaningless now. The US has to check the box, though, to keep the cheap tat flowing.

China accuses U.S. of turning Taiwan into powder keg with its latest arms sales

If China does not sail so close and fly so close to Taiwan, they should remain safe. Other than that, Taiwan can buy what it likes from any willing vendor, including weapons, and it remains no business of China's.

China should stop interfering with its island neighbor, and worry about its own weapons buildup, which looks to be unlimited and never ending. Taiwan will take care of its own business without such outside interference.

Sorry Taiwan but holding off Chinese forces and waiting for outside help isn't realistically feasible if China decides to swoop in all at once.

China does no where near the Sea/Airlift capacity, nor the expertise in amphibious operations to “sweep in all at once.”

China, although they do have a sizable paramilitary maritime militia, only has 2 amphibious assault ships and a battalion of Marines.

In the current balance of forces, a hasty attempt at a Normandy or Iwojima style amphibious invasion, although it may make beachhead and some gains inland, the logistic requirements will catch up to them and they will quagmire like Russia did in Ukraine.

TaiwanIsNotChina

Today 11:40 am JST

ianToday 08:54 am JST

> The U.S. maintains a “One China" policy under which it does not recognize Taiwan's formal independence and has no formal diplomatic relations with the island in deference to Beijing.

> This seems to be a new addition to the usual fillers to articles.

> Was a meaningless statement when it was first made and is even more meaningless now. The US has to check the box, though, to keep the cheap tat flowing.

Hahahaha

Was a meaningless statement when it was first made and is even more meaningless now. The US has to check the box, though, to keep the cheap tat flowing.

Would be meaningless if the one saying it is trash.

What's your reason for saying that?

The US continues to renege on its One China agreement by selling arms to Taiwan.

In a 1972 joint communiqué with the PRC, the United States "acknowledges that all Chinese on either side of the Taiwan Strait maintain there is but one China and that Taiwan is a part of China" and "does not challenge that position."[14]

LegrandeToday 01:12 pm JST

The US continues to renege on its One China agreement by selling arms to Taiwan.

In a 1972 joint communiqué with the PRC, the United States "acknowledges that all Chinese on either side of the Taiwan Strait maintain there is but one China and that Taiwan is a part of China" and "does not challenge that position."[14]

That statement says nothing about about selling arms. What does talk about selling arms is the Third Communique.

https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/US%E2%80%93PRC_Joint_Communique,_August_17,_1982

In order to bring about, over a period of time, a final settlement of the question of United States arms sales to Taiwan, which is an issue rooted in history, the two governments will make every effort to adopt measures and create conditions conducive to the thorough settlement of this issue.

"This issue" was the peaceful reunification of China. Since the PRC has thrown that out the window, the arms sales go back up.

Also in the Taiwan Relations Act three years earlier, the US government made clear it was going to keep selling arms and was committed to Taiwan's defense. Not exactly a surprise to the PRC. In fact, Deng Xiaoping could have called off normalizaiton over it if he wanted to.

ianToday 12:28 pm JST

Was a meaningless statement when it was first made and is even more meaningless now. The US has to check the box, though, to keep the cheap tat flowing.

Would be meaningless if the one saying it is trash.

What's your reason for saying that?

The opening statement

the United States acknowledges that all Chinese on either side of the Taiwan Strait maintain there is but one China

probably wasn't even true in 1972. Can't acknowledge something that is patently false.

@Taiwan

That statement says nothing about about selling arms. What does talk about selling arms is the Third Communique.

https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/US%E2%80%93PRC_Joint_Communique,_August_17,_1982

In order to bring about, over a period of time, a final settlement of the question of United States arms sales to Taiwan, which is an issue rooted in history, the two governments will make every effort to adopt measures and create conditions conducive to the thorough settlement of this issue.

"This issue" was the peaceful reunification of China. Since the PRC has thrown that out the window, the arms sales go back up

The usual spin and willfull misinterpretation lol...The issue rooted in history is that the US attempted to effectively takeover China through their proxy Chiang Kai shek by supplying him with considerable amounts of capital and weapons, which were used to wage a civil war on Chinese soil. When Mao overcame Chiang and his US backers the US helped install Chiang in Taiwan so they could have a justification to wage war and take over China via a defense of "democratic" Taiwan...in other words there was never any point in history where the US was ever going to allow a peaceful conciliation between China and Taiwan, in order that the conflict we see now could become ever more volatile and require a "democratic intervention" not too disimilar from what we saw happen in Iraq, Libya, etc.

TaiwanIsNotChina

Today 01:55 pm JST

ianToday 12:28 pm JST

> Was a meaningless statement when it was first made and is even more meaningless now. The US has to check the box, though, to keep the cheap tat flowing.

> Would be meaningless if the one saying it is trash.

> What's your reason for saying that?

> The opening statement

> the United States acknowledges that all Chinese on either side of the Taiwan Strait maintain there is but one China

> probably wasn't even true in 1972. Can't acknowledge something that is patently false.

Hahahaha the US and the UN acknowledge something that according to you is patently false.

LegrandeToday 02:41 pm JST

The usual spin and willfull misinterpretation lol...The issue rooted in history is that the US attempted to effectively takeover China through their proxy Chiang Kai shek by supplying him with considerable amounts of capital and weapons, which were used to wage a civil war on Chinese soil. When Mao overcame Chiang and his US backers the US helped install Chiang in Taiwan so they could have a justification to wage war and take over China via a defense of "democratic" Taiwan...in other words there was never any point in history where the US was ever going to allow a peaceful conciliation between China and Taiwan, in order that the conflict we see now could become ever more volatile and require a "democratic intervention" not too disimilar from what we saw happen in Iraq, Libya, etc.

The CCP has the mandate of Moscow behind it and nothing more.

ianToday 03:18 pm JST

Hahahaha the US and the UN acknowledge something that according to you is patently false.

The PRC suckered the world with the promise of cheap tat, what can I say.

TaiwanIsNotChina

Today 03:46 pm JST

ianToday 03:18 pm JST

> Hahahaha the US and the UN acknowledge something that according to you is patently false.

> The PRC suckered the world with the promise of cheap tat, what can I say

You still don't get it lol. They acknowledged something that the Chinese from Taiwan and the mainland were saying.

ianToday 03:55 pm JST

You still don't get it lol. They acknowledged something that the Chinese from Taiwan and the mainland were saying.

I'm glad you place so much value on the words of Chiang Kai Shek. He's long dead, though, so eventually we have to get the actual thoughts of the people on the street free from coercion.

Taiwanese were wrong Chinese were wrong. USA was wrong UN was wrong. TaiwanIsNotChina is right.

Hahahaha

They acknowledged something that the Chinese from Taiwan and the mainland were saying.

I think it was what the governments of both places were saying. The people of both places had little say.

So China encircling Taiwan practicing an invasion is completely not powderkegging it eh?

A powder keg?

You mean kind of like Ukraine. No worries! The weapons are for self defense purposes only!

China, although they do have a sizable paramilitary maritime militia, only has 2 amphibious assault ships and a battalion of Marines.

No. China has three 40,000 ton Type 075 LHA style ships, eight 25,000 ton Type 071 LPDs, 65-70 LSTs in the 3,000-6,000 tone range, some of which carry helicopters, and there are roll-on/roll-off auto ferries designed to support an amphibious assault. The ocean distance to be covered is on the order of 120-200 km from most Chinese ports so it would be possible to launch something like an LCU, Utility Landing Craft of the type usually carried in the well deck of an LDP or LHA directly from a mainland port to Taiwan. The larger landing craft like an LCU are seagoing to an extent and have ranges in excess of several hundred kilometers.

The PLA has around 30,000 marines trained for amphibious assault. By comparison the US Marine Corps has about 181,000 active duty personnel and not all of those are front line combat troops.

A powder keg?

Not so much. More like a porcupine.

Taiwan would be overwhelmed in a heartbeat by China if China military's went all in at once.

Here is what you are missing. China can't do it all at once. China would have to build up a tremendous land army on the coast opposite Taiwan and bring in all of their amphibious lift to load up. That doesn't happen all at once. Such preparations take time, are painfully obvious to satellite imagery and would give the allies time to prepare to defend Taiwan.

The PLA has around 30,000 marines trained for amphibious assault. By comparison the US Marine Corps has about 181,000 active duty personnel and not all of those are front line combat troops.

I should have mentioned that the ground combat elements of the US Marine Corps number two divisions, or roughly the same number of front line combat troops as the PLA has trained for amphibious assault. The rest are logistics and admin support, a the large organic air element the Marines bring with them, both fixed and rotary wing.