Taiwan's National Security Is at Risk

Grant Newsham

Security, Asia

How can Taipei and Washington defend Taiwan if they only practice tabletop exercises?

Taiwan’s military must feel pressured on two fronts these days. Chinese People’s Liberation Army jets and ships routinely menace, while the Americans routinely nag—with the best of intentions of course.

Beyond the advice always gushing forth from Washington-based think tanks and pundits, Americans are shuttling through Taipei offering guidance: Spend more on defense . . . become a “porcupine” . . . buy this . . . don’t buy that . . . do this . . . don’t do that . . .

Taiwan might feel like saying: “We get it . . . now how about letting us train and exercise with you?”

U.S. policy has—even if not always intentionally—isolated Taiwan’s military over the forty years since Washington shifted diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing. Arms are grudgingly doled out—as typified by the Obama administration’s single arms sale to Taiwan in eight years. And there are strict American-imposed limits on military to military interaction—to the point Taiwan and U.S. service members wear civilian clothes when visiting each other’s countries.

Taiwan military personnel do attend U.S. service schools and there are frequent consultations and discussions between the militaries, along with observation teams sent to watch each other’s exercises. And American trainers conduct skills training in Taiwan, while Taiwan Air Force F-16 pilots receive training at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona.

But the Americans won’t actually do joint exercises or operations—and that’s a necessity for Taiwan’s military—as it is for any military seeking to maintain or improve capabilities. This is particularly so for a small force that depends on outside support.

As a result, Taiwan’s armed forces are something of a “Galapagos military.” Against the odds, they are still highly professional, but not as capable as they should be. And one wonders how well Taiwan and U.S. forces can defend Taiwan if they never practice outside tabletop exercise—and sometimes seem afraid to be seen together.

This brings to mind a baseball team that never plays other teams. Instead, it’s “chalk talks” and intra-squad games using equipment that it scrounged up.