Comments on: Infantry storming a beach only have the firepower they can carry on their backs

By: Jacob G.

Jacob G. — Fri, 06 Feb 2026 16:51:02 +0000

Behind the scenes both China and the US are working to make reunification more palatable. The main effort is to move the chip foundries to the US or to the mainland. With them gone the strategic import of Taiwan is greatly reduced.

My impression is that most Taiwanese are not at all interested in a Ukraine style defense of their island and will not sacrifice much to prevent annexation. But I suppose that was true of Ukraine in 2014, and that changed quickly. China’s best bet is something rapid and without a lot of bloodshed meaning paradrops without massive local force superiority are probably a bad idea.

By: Phileas Frogg

Phileas Frogg — Thu, 05 Feb 2026 14:35:58 +0000

If China is forced into a large military action, that alone SHOULD constitute a victory for the US, but only if our leadership is operating with the understanding that unification isn’t a matter of, “if,” but of, “when,” and our best bet is to simply exact the greatest amount of effort and treasure from them for their trouble.

As it stands I fully expect US to fumble this and try to actually stop it, an even more idiotic Ukraine.

By: Bob Sykes

Bob Sykes — Thu, 05 Feb 2026 13:11:55 +0000

The Taiwan independence party lost many seats in parliament, and it is now a minority party, although it does control the Presidency. A substantial part of the Taiwan population is Han Chinese, and many of them, plus other ethnicities, favor reunification with China, although not necessarily under communist control. The Kuomintang is still a major political patty there.

Taiwans’s economy is also heavily integrated with China’s, and many Taiwanese work on the mainland.

The point is that any move by China to forcibly reunite the island will have the support of many Taiwanese.

Current American policy, which repudiates our One China agreement, is driving China to a military solution to the problem.

By: McChuck

McChuck — Thu, 05 Feb 2026 00:38:24 +0000

China already smuggles masses of people to the USA in containers. There is a lot of tourism between China and Taiwan. If they wanted to, China could have hundreds of boots on the ground as “tourists”, and they’d just have to go to the ports to pick up their weapons. Then they unlock the shipping containers containing thousands of their compatriots, along with their supplies.

How many rifles can you pack in a shipping container? How many drones? How many motorcycles?

By: Gaikokumaniakku

Gaikokumaniakku — Wed, 04 Feb 2026 17:15:55 +0000

Any seaborne invasion would be very difficult for the first 100 hours. Blockade has a much better chance of getting Communists what they want.

Recently, Xi Jinping has overseen a significant purge of senior military leaders, including “investigations” of Zhang Youxia, vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, and Liu Zhenli, chief of staff of the Central Military Commission’s Joint Staff Department. Some fear that Xi wants to get young, fanatical, stupid warfighters into high places so that no one will be smart enough to resist orders to attack.