Defending Taiwan has long been a complex issue for the United States, with Washington sticking to its “One China” policy and embracing the principles of strategic ambiguity to maintain the cross-strait status quo. But as China’s military might grows to challenge decades of the United States’s Pacific dominance, it is critical for both Taiwan and the United States to work together on ways to defend the island and prevent the possibility of a People’s Republic of China (PRC) campaign of conquest. In this issue of Sharper, CNAS experts develop new strategies to maximize Taiwan’s ability to resist PRC influence and forced reunification.

Features:

Report | Hellscape for Taiwan

Taiwan needs a credible strategy to leverage its own asymmetric advantages and defeat a PRC invasion force. A cross-strait invasion would be one of the most perilous endeavors in military history, and by using uncrewed aerial, surface, and underwater vehicles in concert with land-based artillery, mines, and mobile air defenses, Taiwan could create a density of cross-domain fires not previously possible, deny the PRC air and sea superiority, and destroy large numbers of People’s Liberation Army forces. In Hellscape for Taiwan: Rethinking Asymmetric Defense, Stacie Pettyjohn and Molly Campbell lay out a pathway to Taiwanese defensive self-sufficiency and outline a strategy for victory that does not rely on U.S. military forces coming to the island’s defense.

Report | Whither the Coalition? Assessing the Prospects of a Diverse Sanctions Coalition in Defense of Taiwan

The United States could use far more than military force to deter or overcome Chinese pressure on Taiwan. Sanctions would almost certainly be part of the U.S. response, but China’s economy is too large and too diverse for Washington to go at it alone. To succeed, the United States would have to build a broad and diverse coalition, including working with countries that have not historically aligned with U.S. sanctions. In Whither the Coalition? Assessing the Prospects of a Diverse Sanctions Coalition in Defense of Taiwan, authors Emily Kilcrease and James Crabtree examine three countries—Singapore, India, and Germany—that could be critical partners but whose cooperation is far from guaranteed.

Report | Thwarting Communications Blackout

In a crisis, China might try to assert physical control over Taiwan’s information environment—including the infrastructure that connects Taiwan to the world—seeking to create a communications blackout or information blockade that impedes government and military communications, sows confusion among Taiwan’s citizens, and cuts the island off from its allies. In Thwarting Communications Blackout: Protecting Taiwan’s Information and Communication Networks from China’s Attempts to Cut Them Off, authors Jacob Stokes and Ryan Claffey analyze three areas that would be pivotal in the battle for information control across the Taiwan Strait: undersea cables, satellite communication systems, and the electromagnetic spectrum.