Text/Blackwood
The island of Taiwan may become a "giant ammunition depot" for the US military. According to Zhongshi News reports, Qiu Guozheng, head of Taiwan's "defense department," recently publicly revealed that they were discussing with the US military to place US military weapons stored in South Korea, Japan, and the Philippines on the island of Taiwan.
(Qiu Guozheng, head of Taiwan's "defense department")
Based on the statements of the US media and people on the island, Taiwan's "defense department" called on the US military to "store weapons in advance" for two reasons.
- First, the transfer of weapons can prevent shortages of ammunition in times of conflict. According to the experience of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, the lack of ammunition is a major problem that plagues Ukraine and the Western world. Once the PLA takes over Taiwan, it will definitely implement the tactic of locking the island, and it will be very difficult to enter and exit the island, and the depth of the weapons arsenal will be extremely tested.
Although the Taiwan authorities have greatly increased their military spending and ammunition reserves this year, it is still unknown how much they can increase. Taking 10,000 steps back, even if the US military intervenes, it will not be able to use the old ammunition of the Taiwan military, and the lack of weapons on the island, especially the lack of precision-guided weapons, will become a negative factor.
(Some people on the island are still coveting the US military's precision-guided weapons.)
But the problem is that the Taiwan region, unlike its neighbors, does not have a US military garrison, and in principle, ammunition and combat readiness stocks cannot be stored. However, last year, there was an "accelerated arms transfer bill to Taiwan" to deal with this situation, and the bill proposed to put the Taiwan region on a special list, allowing US weapons to be stored on the island in advance to pave the way for the transfer of weapons.
This kind of thinking obviously has a certain market in the United States. In recent years, the United States has sold a large number of weapons such as "Stingers" and "Javelins" to the island, and in order to support the so-called "asymmetric operations", if these weapons can be stored in advance, the United States will have little loss.
(Hengshan Command Post Entrance)
- Second, the Taiwan authorities can also take advantage of this lion to open its mouth. They believe that the establishment of ammunition depots can not only help the US military "assist in the defense of Taiwan", but also leave it for the use of the Taiwan military when necessary. Some people on the island are still fantasizing that the US military can transfer advanced missiles such as precision-guided munitions and anti-ship missiles; after all, it has set a precedent for storing weapons, and there is no reason for the United States not to sell high-deterrent weapons to the Taiwan authorities. It is precisely for the above reasons that the United States and Taiwan can collude with each other and sit down to discuss this matter.
Once a conflict breaks out, it is unknown whether the US military can get the weapons on the island, and even soon after the start of the war, these weapons may be "one pot" by the PLA. Although many of Taiwan's ammunition depots are underground, the DF-15 can drill into the ground and fight more than enough to hit the command post and ammunition depot on the island.
(U.S. arms sales are already very unpopular)
Moreover, the manipulation of the Taiwan authorities is unpopular with the people, and many politicians say that this move will cause tension in the Taiwan Strait and even push Taiwan to the front line of war. Moreover, the Taiwan authorities' "presupposition" of the US military's participation in the war is completely wishful thinking, and even if the US military negotiates with the "Taiwan defense department", it does not mean that the US military will intervene in the situation in the Taiwan Strait. The United States wants benefits, not risks.
In the final analysis, Taiwan is just a tool of the US military, a pawn used by the White House to confront the mainland, and has little status to speak of. Not long ago, Biden's plan to destroy Taiwan revealed the plan of the US military, and Taiwan Island itself is used for "sacrifice".
(I'm afraid Tsai Ing-wen won't be able to laugh then)
Therefore, the "advanced weapons" spoken of by politicians on the island and the US military's "defense of Taiwan Island" are impossible, and the "huge ammunition depot" imagined by the Taiwan authorities is just to increase the targets of the PLA. At that time, not only may weapons not be obtained, but also in the face of the mainland's anger, have the Taiwan authorities really thought about it?