Taiwan Rehearses Anti-Carrier Defense
The Taiwanese have begun rehearsing for the inevitable: a Chinese carrier battle group.
Taiwan on Monday launched a military drill simulating invasion from China involving China’s first aircraft carrier.
The annual drill, coded Hankuang 23, is meant to simulate a missile attack from China, followed by attack from a Chinese aircraft carrier and sabotage by Chinese spies and pro-China elements in Taiwan, the China Times said.
Taiwan would launch a counter-attack by firing missiles from its warships and F-16 warplanes at the Chinese aircraft carrier.
China is expected to finish building its first aircraft carrier within five years. By then, the 120-kilometre Taiwan Strait would no longer protect Taiwan from China because the Chinese aircraft carrier could sail to Taiwan’s east coast, to allow China to attack Taiwan from both sides.
Taiwan has only four submarines – two US subs from World War II and two Dutch subs imported in the 1980s.
The China Times said that since the US is concerned about China developing aircraft carrier, it has sent a military delegation – led by Dennis Blair, former commander-in-chief of the US Pacific Command – to monitor Hankuang 23.
Note that Congress recently blocked the sale of the U.S Aegis Weapons System, as well American made submarines, to Taiwan.
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Bio: I am currently a Professor of Security Studies, hold a BS in Management and an MA in National Security Studies, and am pursuing an MA in Systematic and Philosophical Theology. I've written for Navy Times, Proceedings, Armed Forces Journal and a number of blogs. As a 24-year veteran of the U.S. Navy and Navy Reserve, I attained the rank of Commander, deployed five times for four different conflicts and served as a Foreign Area Officer and a Surface Warfare Officer. During my 7 years in the private sector, I worked in the fields of information technology and publishing, and even ran for public office once.
