The Chinese Invasion Threat: Taiwan's Defense and American Strategy in Asia, by Ian Easton

https://www.amazon.com/Chinese-Invas.../dp/1546353259

When I saw the somewhat kooky cover, I almost rejected the book out of hand, but fortunately I noticed it was endorsed by a number of senior U.S. military officers (including a former U.S. Pacific Command Commander), Senior Taiwanese officers, and respected professors. Bottom line it based on deep research and well written. It will challenge a number of prevailing myths concerning one of the most dangerous flash points in the world.

The Washington Times review is better than anything I produce off the cuff.

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news...vasion-threat/

Mr. Allison offers what amounts to the latest defense of the Cold War-era China policy built by former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and his successors, which essentially justifies continued concessions (appeasement) to the “rising power” Chinese Communist Party (CCP) dictatorship to uphold “stability” but not peace.

Part of a new generation of China analysts, Mr. Easton is far more impressed with promise of Taiwan’s democracy and rejects policies that appease China, such as our self-constrained “unofficial” relationship with Taiwan. But Mr. Easton also makes clear that both peace and stability between the U.S. and China could end as soon as early in the next decade. For the first time since the early 1950s China is close to being able to attempt its never-abandoned goal of conquering Taiwan.
Easton's book provides a detailed review of known Chinese and Taiwanese war plans, and the massive challenges that the Chinese must over come to successfully invade and integrate Taiwan. He provides a short analysis of the U.S. plan to invade Formosa (Taiwan's former name) during WWII, and based on the size and terrain U.S. planners estimated they would need 500,000 troops to successfully wrest control of it from the Japanese. Taiwan is a much tougher target today based on decades of defense planning and engineering. Easton also discusses other strategies that the Chinese may employ, but the focus of the book is on an actual invasion.

Easton points out in subsequent blog posts and articles that a successful defense of Taiwan ultimately depends upon the will of the Taiwanese to resist/fight, and that means they need to counter Chinese psychological warfare, which attempts to convince the Taiwanese, Japanese, and Americans that resistance if futile. Throughout the book he provides a lot of insight on Chinese thinking, and how the Peoples Liberation Army is an instrument of the communist more so than a true Army. They have a number of shortfalls, and we shouldn't simply evaluate their military based on their budget and the number and type of weapons they have. Their senior officers are generally brain washed, and even those who aren't will not speak out after Xi's recent purges. While this promotes incompetence, it also promotes hubris for those who buy into their propaganda, which ultimately increases the risk of war.

I found a couple of paragraphs in the last chapter of his book that capture my philosophical thoughts on the topic. However, for those who care about freedom, etc. Throughout the book he illustrates how the loss of Taiwan would present significant and tangible risks to U.S. interests.

It may be fairly observed that, in some ways, American foreign policy in Asia has evolved in an absurd fashion. Over the past two decades, Taiwan has become a vibrant full-fledged democracy, only to be treated like an international pariah state. Today, American diplomats are forbidden from recognizing Taiwan's ROC flag and calling the Taiwanese people and government by their proper names. At the same time, the People's Republic of China has become more authoritarian, only to be treated as if it were a respectable and even indispensable member of the community of nations. American policymakers have shown a remarkable deference to Beijing's cross-Strait interests.
As a consequence of this unnecessary, self-imposed policy choice, an entire generation of young Americans has been brought up believing this is the natural order of things and it is somehow right and good that the principle of self-determination be denied to the Taiwanese people, who are being "provocative" every time they attempt to chart their own path. . . An amoral idea has been locked into the collective mind of American policy.